Messi to Start for Argentina after Nine-Month Absence

Lionel Messi will start Friday's friendly against Venezuela in Madrid as he makes his return for Argentina following a self-imposed eight-month exile, Coach Lionel Scaloni confirmed.

Scaloni said that Messi would line up alongside Inter Milan forward Lautaro Martinez and Atlanta United's Gonzalo Martinez in attack as he revealed his full starting team

Following that 4-3 defeat, Messi took a self-imposed break from the international game, missing six games that have marked the beginning of Scaloni's tenure. But he will feature from the start in Friday's friendly in Madrid as Argentina steps up its preparations for the Copa America, which gets underway in less than three months.

"It's a joy that Messi comes back," Scaloni told a news conference. "Despite my youth, I have a chance to train him.

"I have to try to get the team to accompany him and make the best of it. Let's hope that with Messi's return the team is more empowered."

Messi has missed six friendlies since the tournament in Russia but many believe he will be an essential part of the team that travels to Brazil for the Copa America, which kicks off June 14.

"We have a way of playing and feeling football in these six games we've had. We're not going to change it, that (Messi) is coming is more incentive for us and another addition. We've played different systems and we're going to do it in the same way, added to his great quality," Scaloni added.

The return of Lionel Messi makes the demands on us extremely high.