Messi's penalty powers Argentina to crucial win over Chile
It may only offer Lionel Messi a modicum of personal retribution after the events of last summer's Copa America Centenario final, but in beating Claudio Bravo from the penalty spot on Thursday, Argentina's little magician helped his nation take a vital step toward the 2018 World Cup.
Messi - who sent an atrocious spot kick into orbit as the Albiceleste were dispatched by Chile in the aforementioned contest - had no such problems on this night, burying an effort from 12 yards out to give Edgardo Bauza's side a 1-0 win, and an enormous three points in the hunt for a World Cup berth.
Argentina came into the match on the outside looking in, sitting in sixth place in the uber-competitive CONMEBOL qualifying table, but jumped all the way to third with the slim win at the Estadio Monumental.
The top four teams in the South American table qualify automatically for next summer's World Cup, while the fifth-place squad enters an intercontinental playoff.
Ahead of the March 28 trip to Bolivia, Messi and Co. now have some breathing room, if only a little.