San Juan — Lionel Messi produced a magical display to get Argentina’s World Cup qualification back on track on Tuesday, while Brazil notched their sixth consecutive victory to put one foot in the 2018 finals in Russia. Messi curled home a stunning 27m free-kick and set up goals for Lucas Pratto and Angel Di Maria in a 3-0 victory over Colombia in San Juan. The win elevated Argentina into the qualifying places after they had taken just two points in their previous four games. Messi and his Argentina teammates imposed a media boycott after the final whistle. Messi said they were incensed by a claim by an Argentinian journalist that forward Ezequiel Lavezzi had been caught smoking marijuana in the camp. Lavezzi, not on the substitutes bench against Colombia, has denied the claims. "We have made the decision not to talk to the media.… You know why," said Messi. "There were a lot of accusations, a lot of disrespect, and the accusations they made against ‘Pocho’ [Lavezzi] are very serious...
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