Just the prospect of Lionel Messi's return gave Argentina so much confidence that one player openly said it would intimidate the Brazilians ahead of their South American World Cup qualifying match.

But having the world five-time player of the year back from injury didn't translate into success, as Messi's friend Neymar led Brazil to a convincing 3-0 victory at Mineirao stadium on Thursday.

Neymar set up Philippe Coutinho's opening goal from the edge of the box, then the Barcelona star scored his 50th goal for Brazil at the end of the first half with an elegant touch in front of the Argentine goalkeeper.