Di Maria is the hero of Argentina's victory in Messi's return match

Messi's struggle with injuries is old. Even if he recovers, the club or the national team will not play him in the whole match except for important matches. He also appeared as a substitute in the preparation match of the Copa America. But before that, the hero of the match against Ecuador is Angel Di Maria. His only goal helped Lionel Scaloni's side beat Ecuador 1-0 in a friendly.

Argentina played aggressively from the beginning of the match at the Soldier Field Stadium in Chicago early on Monday (June 10) Bangladesh time. From the first minute Di Maria and Julian Alvarez could be seen playing attacking football with high pressing. On the other hand, Ecuador tried to stop Argentina's attack by freezing the defense.

Argentina got the first chance in the 19th minute of the match, but couldn't capitalize on another chance after two minutes. Argentina almost reached the goal in the 30th minute. However, the Copa America champions have to be disappointed again this time. Although they did not score, they attacked one after another. The result came in the 40th minute of the match.

Cristian Romero passes to Di Maria after receiving the ball from Rodrigo De Paul. The winger, who retired after the Copa America, sent the ball into the net with a brilliant finish. The Argentine star almost got the second goal in the 44th minute. But his shot from the free-kick narrowly failed to find the net.

From the beginning of the second half, Messi can be seen warming up near the sideline. In the 56th minute, Messi entered the field as a substitute for Di Maria amid the cheers of the audience. But he did not look familiar. In the end, the world champions left the field with a one-goal lead.

Argentina will play their next match in preparation for the Copa America against Guatemala on June 15. After that, Argentina will start the Copa campaign with a match against Canada on June 21. The reigning champions will play the remaining two matches of the group stage against Chile on June 26 and Peru on June 30.