Uruguay beats Argentina 2-1 in the first match since Lionel Messi’s retirement

BUENOS AIRES (AP) — The post-Messi era began with an Argentina defeat on Friday.

Argentina fell 2-1 to Uruguay on Friday in an international friendly at La Bombonera in Buenos Aires, marking the team’s first match since Lionel Messi’s international retirement in early October.

Leonardo Balerdi opened the scoring with an own goal in the 48th minute, before Maximiliano Araújo doubled Uruguay’s lead in the 53rd minute under new coach Diego Forlán.

Julián Álvarez pulled one back for the hosts in the 73rd minute.

This clásico rioplatense also kicked off a new chapter for the Argentine national team under Lionel Scaloni, who extended his contract through 2030 earlier this week.

The 39-year-old legend’s retirement remains a fresh wound for Argentine fans; notably, the stadium fell short of a sellout, a rare departure from the norm.

While most supporters in the stands wore the albiceleste jersey with Messi’s iconic No. 10, Scaloni chose not to assign the number to any player for the match. The coach explained that he has yet to select a successor and, as it is not mandatory, he prefers to leave the jersey vacant for now.

On the pitch, Argentina maintained its signature polished possession, but lacked the explosive, incisive spark that Messi typically delivered in the final third. Neither Nicolás Paz nor Thiago Almada was able to fill that void.

Argentina will look to bounce back against Costa Rica in Córdoba on Tuesday, while Uruguay returns home to host the Dominican Republic on the same day.

See AP’s full soccer coverage here

Charlotte midfielder Brandt Bronico (13) defends Inter Miami forward Leo Messi (10) during the second half of an MLS game Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, in Miami, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Argentina's players line up before an international friendly soccer match against Uruguay in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Nov. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello)

Argentina's Nicolas Paz reacts after teammate Leonardo Balerdi scored an own goal during an international friendly soccer match against Uruguay in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Nov. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello)

Uruguay's coach Diego Forlan reacts at the end of an international friendly soccer match against Argentina in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Nov. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello)

SpaceX's attempt to recover its entire Starship back at the launch pad was thwarted when the booster fell into the Gulf of Mexico and exploded Friday, but the spacecraft still soared into orbit in its boldest test yet.

Instead of returning to its Texas pad following liftoff, the first-stage booster was diverted to a point offshore. Despite the setback, the spacecraft continued on its way. It will steer toward the pad Saturday, barring further trouble. The flight could last as long as 22 hours.

It’s the first time that Starship will try to return to the pad from orbit, to be plucked in midair by mechanical arms secured to the launch tower. The loss of the booster meant Elon Musk's company missed out on a double catch.

The original goal was to retrieve every single piece of the rocket for the purpose of future recycling, something yet to be achieved anywhere in the world. Musk sees this leading to the kind of fast and consistent launch rates necessary for building moon bases and sending people to Mars.

Shortly after reaching orbit, Starship dropped off 26 of the company’s most advanced Starlink satellites. The plan is for Starship to complete 15 laps around the world at an altitude of around 170 miles (275 kilometers) before heading back to the launch site for Saturday’s grand finale.

SpaceX had already made three booster grabs at the company’s sprawling Starbase near the U.S.-Mexico border. That made Friday's miss all the more surprising.

“Well, that certainly isn’t the news that we had hoped to hear for today,” observed SpaceX launch commentator Kate Tice, adding that it was in line with the many rigorous safety checks to protect the pad. No explanation was provided for what went wrong.

This was the first attempt to capture the upgraded version of the booster that stretches 236 feet (72 meters) — the production model for moon and Mars expeditions. It will also be the first time the company attempts to catch the spacecraft, which spans 171 feet (52 meters). Together, they form the world’s biggest and most powerful rocket — an astounding 407 feet (124 meters) in height.

The spacecraft portion of the 14 previous Starships ended up in the ocean, either by design at flight’s end or by accident in a stream of flaming wreckage. During the first full-scale test flight in 2023, multiple engines failed to ignite and the tumbling rocket’s self-destruct system was activated.

The last test, in September, was the first to reach orbit, but SpaceX did not try to recover any of the rocket stages.

SpaceX plans to start launching Starships from Florida within a few months and from Louisiana in a few years. Scaled-up infrastructure, combined with full rocket reusability, is “how you go from zero launches to 10 to 100 to 1,000 to 10,000 to 100,000,” SpaceX’s Kiko Dontchev, vice president of launch, said at a NASA tech summit last week at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center.

SpaceX’s smaller Falcon rockets will continue to fly from Cape Canaveral, carrying astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA and from California carrying Starlinks. Satellites also will keep hitching Falcon rides for now. Musk wants Starships to eventually replace Falcons.

Falcon rockets “are still not fully reusable. We still throw that second stage away every single flight. Starship, we’re going to catch both the first stage and second stage,” Dontchev said ahead of Friday's launch.

NASA is paying SpaceX billions of dollars to land Artemis astronauts on the moon with Starships. Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin is the other major player. NASA expects to decide a year before the Artemis IV lunar landing — the first by astronauts in more than half a century — whether to get the moonwalkers to the surface with Musk’s Starship or Bezos’ Blue Moon.

During next summer’s Artemis III mission, astronauts will practice docking their capsule with a Blue Moon and then a Starship in orbit around Earth. That will set the stage for an Artemis moon touchdown as early as 2028.

“We are looking forward to some of that on-orbit Starlink capability on Artemis III,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said via X after Starship reached orbit.

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People sit on their vehicles to view SpaceX's mega rocket Starship's test flight from Starbase, Texas, Friday, Nov. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

The booster for SpaceX's mega rocket Starship aborts a catch attempt during a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Friday, Nov. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

SpaceX's mega rocket Starship lifts off for a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Friday, Nov. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

SpaceX's mega rocket Starship lifts off for a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Friday, Nov. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

The booster for SpaceX's mega rocket Starship explodes after a catch attempt was aborted during a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Friday, Nov. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

A weather balloon is released ahead of SpaceX's Starship test flight from Starbase in Texas, Nov. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

SpaceX's mega rocket Starship is stacked and prepared for a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

People gather to watch as SpaceX's mega rocket Starship, getting stacked and prepared for a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

SpaceX's mega rocket Starship is stacked and prepared for a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

SpaceX's mega rocket Starship is stacked and prepared for a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

SpaceX's mega rocket Starship is stacked and prepared for a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)