El monumental

Buenos Aires:  Lionel Messi allayed concerns about his fitness after an impressive second-half cameo in Argentina's 1-0 home win over Paraguay in their World Cup qualifier.

Messi, who has struggled to overcome a muscle problem in recent weeks, made an immediate impact after replacing Julian Alvarez in the 53rd minute at Estadio Monumental.

The 36-year-old Inter Miami forward instantly gave the Albiceleste more fluency in attack and he was twice denied by the woodwork in the last 20 minutes, Xinhua reports.