SAUDI ARABIA: Lionel Messi scored on his first Argentina appearance since July as they beat old rival Brazil in Saudi Arabia.

Messi had a penalty saved by Alisson in the friendly, but scored the rebound for his 69th international goal.

Gabriel Jesus had earlier missed a penalty for Brazil.

Barcelona forward Messi was returning from a three-month ban for saying the Copa America was “fixed for Brazil”, with the hosts beating Argentina in the semi-final and Peru in the July final.

Brazil – who handed a late debut to Aston Villa striker Wesley – have failed to win in the five games since winning the Copa America.

Argentina are due to face Uruguay in Tel Aviv on Monday (19:15 GMT) but the game could be cancelled due to fighting in Israel.

Brazil will play South Korea in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday (13:30 GMT), their last game before the 2022 World Cup qualifiers begin in March.

(Agencies)