(VIDEO) The gift of a ball boy to Lionel Messi and Dibu Martinez's gesture prior facing Ecuador

Lionel Messi and Argentina triumphed yesterday in Buenos Aires with a last-minute victory over Ecuador in the opening match of the World Cup qualifiers. A Messi free-kick sealed the only goal of the game, earning them three points in front of their home crowd.

In their next match, Lionel Scaloni's team will travel to La Paz to face Bolivia in the second round of these qualifiers. The current world champions are starting a new journey to secure a spot in the next World Cup and defend their title.

After these international commitments, Messi will return to Miami, where he will continue to push for a spot in the MLS playoffs through the wildcard. He won't be available for tomorrow's match against Sporting Kansas City, so his return to the pitch may not happen until the following week.

Fans of the Argentine superstar come in all ages, and Argentina is no exception. In recent hours, an emotional moment between a young boy, Lionel Messi, and Emiliano Martínez has gone viral on social media.

Here's the video

In the video, a young boy gave Messi two golden figures from the World Cup sticker album as a gift. Messi kindly accepted the present and handed it to a member of Scaloni's coaching staff to keep. Upon noticing this, goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez asked the staff to retrieve one of the cards and then placed one in his sock for good luck.

Courtesy of El Clarín on Twitter