But the 29-year-old has been in prolific form for Juventus this season, scoring nine goals in 14 Italian Serie A matches, and Messi believes his experience will be "vital" in Russia.

"Pipa has suffered a lot from criticism and we have talked about it a lot of times," Messi said.

"But I think that this time away from the national team has done him good, now he is seeing things in a different light. He has to be [in the team] because he is vital, he is one of the best forwards in the world and he always shows it."

Higuain has also found allies in retired Argentina greats Diego Maradona and Gabriel Batistuta.

In October, Maradona backed Higuain to force his way back into the team while Batistuta said the former Real Madrid striker had unfairly been made a scapegoat for Argentina's recent disappointments in major tournaments.

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