Paraguay took a first-half lead during their Group B encounter in Belo Horizonte as Almirón completed a bursting run down the left wing, which began inside the 25-year-old's own half.

After racing beyond two Argentina defenders, Almirón's fine cross from the byline found Richard Sanchez inside the penalty area, who buried his first-time finish into the right-hand corner before Messi levelled the tie with a second-half penalty.

Almirón, who sustained a hamstring injury against Southampton in April, continued his strong form in the South American competition after registering an assist in La Albirroja's opening fixture - a 2-2 draw against Qatar on Sunday.

Paraguay can secure qualification to the quarter-finals with a victory against group leaders Colombia on Sunday (kick-off 8pm BST), who boast a 100 per cent win record and are yet to concede so far in the tournament after two wins against Argentina and Qatar respectively.

Elsewhere, Salomón Rondón, who featured on loan for the Magpies last term, played for 85 minutes of Venezuela's goalless draw against hosts Brazil, who saw three goals all ruled out for offside.

La Vinotinto have a realistic chance of progressing into the knockout stages after gaining two points from two games and face Bolivia on Saturday (kick-off 8pm BST).

Goalkeeper Freddie Woodman was an unused substitute as England Under-21s suffered an agonising 2-1 defeat against France in Cesena, with the Young Lions conceding twice in the dying stages of their European U21 Championship Group C opener in Cesena.

Aidy Boothroyd's Young Lions take on Romania on Friday evening (kick-off 5.30pm) before facing Croatia in San Marino on Monday, 24th June in their final group game.