Lionel Messi will line up against the Italian national team on Friday evening as Argentina prepare for this year’s World Cup in Russia.
The 2014 finalists play their first fixture of 2018 against an Italy side who failed to qualify for the summer finals, in the neutral settings of Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium.
Messi has been named in the squad to travel to Manchester, but could he have been lining up for Friday’s opponents if Argentina hadn’t made the first move when he was a youngster? Goal investigates.
