Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi fail to score – or win – international returns

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi both resumed international service on Friday after difficult times, but none of them made the return that fans were hoping for.

The talismanic pair had missed their country's last six games after disappointing World Cup campaigns, but both were frustrated to return Friday.

Ronaldo made a desperate gap as Portugal attempted a 0-0 draw against Ukraine during its first qualifying exit for the European Championship in Lisbon.

Ukrainian goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov dismissed the Juventus star at the only important opening of the night, as the European champions failed to make a breakthrough on the first day of the defense. of their title.

Meanwhile, his former Messi of La Liga, Messi, made an even more disappointing return. Argentina was crushed 3 to 1 ahead of Wanda Metropolitano against Venezuela, the South American, in Madrid.

Even worse, the Barcelona man has had a groin injury that will put him out of friendly Tuesday against Morocco.

The injury, described as an upsurge of an existing problem, is not considered serious.

Newcastle striker Salomon Rondon gave Venezuela a surprise lead six minutes before Jhon Murillo doubled his lead shortly before half-time.

Lautaro Martinez halved the arrears before Josef Martinez complicates Argentina's difficulties by adding a late penalty.

Messi had been in voluntary exile since Argentina had retired from the World Cup in the final stage, after losing 4-2 to France.

He had briefly felt like he was reaching his best in Russia when he scored a sensational solo goal against Nigeria in the team's last group game.

But Argentina 's early exit ultimately reflected the poor performance of his team and his star player throughout the tournament, with a 3-0 defeat against Croatia' s finalist, reflecting just how badly it was. team is lagging behind the best in the world.