<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">Lionel Messi and his Argentina teammates will make a triumphant return in their homeland on Thursday when they play their first match since winning the World Cup in Qatar.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">More than 1.5 million fans applied for 63,000 available tickets for the match against Central American minnows Panama at the Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Football-mad Argentines were out in even larger numbers following the Albiceleste's dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over France in December. An estimated five million people thronged the streets of Buenos Aires a few days later for the trophy parade.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Such was the multitude that the parade had to be abandoned long before it reached central Buenos Aires as it was already hours behind schedule.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Messi had been widely expected to retire from international football after the final in Doha, in which he scored two goals and a shoot-out spot-kick, but the Paris Saint-Germain forward said he wanted to carry on a bit longer so he could wear the blue and white Argentina jersey as a world champion.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"He is in good shape, he wants to keep coming. When he tells me that he doesn't feel good, we'll see," coach Lionel Scaloni said on Tuesday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"At the moment he is happy with the national team."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The expectation was slightly soured earlier this month when two men fired shots at a closed supermarket belonging to the family of Messi's wife, before leaving a menacing message aimed at the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Messi, we're waiting for you. Javkin is a narco, he won't take care of you," said the handwritten message left on the ground, in reference to Pablo Javkin, the mayor of Messi's hometown Rosario, around 320 kilometers north of Buenos Aires.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Messi, though, has taken it all in his stride, as his father pointed out.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"I spoke to the kid and he told me: 'relax'," Jorge Messi told reporters.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For the mayor of Rosario, it was more of a publicity stunt than a genuine threat.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"What story goes more quickly viral in the world than an attack on Messi?" said Javkin.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While it may not directly affect Messi, the incident did highlight a growing problem in the 35-year-old's home town.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rosario is a port city on the Parana river that has gradually become a nerve center for drug trafficking and the most violent city in Argentina, with 287 murders in 2022.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 'Everyone will want to beat us' -</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A party atmosphere is expected in Buenos Aires for the team's competitive homecoming.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">With 20,000 places in the 83,000-capacity stadium reserved for invitees, the remaining tickets were snapped up within two hours of going on sale.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The cheapest cost 12,000 pesos ($60) up to 49,000 pesos ($245), which is more than half the average monthly salary in the South American country.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Argentine football federation president Claudio Tapia said the body had received more than 130,000 requests for media accreditation, in a stadium that has capacity for just 344 journalists.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We would love to be able to accommodate everyone, but we would need two ... stadiums, just for journalists. The madness for Argentina is total," said Tapia.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Those not lucky enough to get inside the stadium will at least be able to watch the match for free on television after the government decided to broadcast it freely.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Scaloni promised them is that the team would not rest on their laurels, regardless of the occasion or opponents.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"The aim is to keep playing at the same level," he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Now, it will be harder than ever because everyone will want to beat us."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After Thursday's match, Argentina will play the island of Curacao on Match 28 in Santiago del Estero. AFP</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>