Messi, Suarez score as Argentina hold Uruguay

Tel Aviv, November 19

Lionel Messi scored a late penalty as Argentina drew 2-2 with Uruguay in a friendly held in Israel Monday, with the Jewish state considering the match a victory.

The game pitted Messi against his Barcelona teammate Luis Suarez, and it looked as though the Uruguayan had gotten the better of him as he scored one goal and set up another to give his team a 2-1 lead going into injury time.

But a ball into the box was handled by a Uruguayan defender, and Messi calmly slotted the resulting penalty home to ensure an engaging friendly ended all square.

The 32-year-old had earlier teed up Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero to make it 1-1, after Edinson Cavani had opened the scoring. Suarez scored a free-kick from outside the box to give his side the lead before Messi’s late intervention.

Stroll for Brazil

Abu Dhabi: Brazil snapped a five-game winless streak with the recalled Philippe Coutinho starring in a 3-0 win over South Korea. — Agencies