Photo Julian Alvarez
The captain of the Argentine national team, Lionel Messi, does not have any injuries after asking for the change in the debut of the South American Qualifiers against Ecuador, although in any case, uncertainty still remains regarding his trip to Bolivia to face the second commitment of the path towards the United States-Canada-Mexico 2026.
This Saturday the doctors delivered the expected news about the star’s good state of health, after subjecting him to imaging studies at the IMAXE clinic in Buenos Aires.
As a colorful note, the tranquility of Saturday in the center of the City of Buenos Aires was completely altered when passersby became aware of their unexpected presence in the place.
Photo Julian Alvarez
Leo revolutionized the atmosphere on 2300 Córdoba Avenuewhere traffic was momentarily cut off by the curious who gathered in front of the clinic to photograph the Argentine captainwho attended accompanied by the team’s doctors and the prop Mario Di Stéfano.
The studies confirmed what was estimated: Messi does not suffer any muscle injury and his departure on Thursday, after scoring the winning goal against the Ecuadorians (1-0), was due to physical fatigue.
Argentina’s number 10 was tired from the intense grind of matches he had undergone since his debut at Inter Miami on July 21. Since that date, including the game with the world champion team, there were twelve commitments faced by the 36-year-old from Rosario.
The accumulation of minutes, without having done preseason after his departure from Paris Saint-Germain, is what makes Lionel Scaloni’s coaching staff doubt about Messi’s availability for the trip to Bolivia.
The requirement of playing at 3,600 meters high in La Paz It is a perhaps unnecessary risk factorsince the road to the 2026 World Cup has just begun and Argentina has plenty of options to face the match at the Hernando Siles stadium.
With diverse results, Messi faced Bolivia three times in the World Cup qualifiers. His first time was the traumatic 1-6 in the Diego Maradona era (2009), then he participated in the 1-1 draw in the Alejandro Sabella cycle (2013) and the last precedent was a 2-1 victory (2020) with Scaloni in the substitute bench.
The final decision on his presence in the next match will be made in training this Sunday in Ezeiza, prior to the trip to La Paz scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
At the same time on Tuesday, Argentina will face its second match in these South American Qualifiers against a rival that has just received a slap from Brazil (1-5) in Belém.
“The match with Argentina is a final, we will try to recover,” warned former Racing Club coach Gustavo Costas.
Regardless of Messi’s availability, the “albiceleste” team will have variations in its initial formation compared to the 1-0 against Ecuador at the Monumental.
Defender Cristian “Cuti” Romero, the debut figure, could be one of those who rotate, as well as midfielder Alexis Mac Allister and forwards Lautaro Martínez and Nicolás González.
The Argentine coach will be able to count on central marker Lisandro Martínez againwho reached his physical limit for the first game due to a discomfort suffered in his last game against Manchester City.
At the same time, those who most likely have a place among the eleven in La Paz are Ángel Di María and Julián Álvarez, two players who were replacements against Ecuador.
All the definitions will come this Sunday after practice at the Lionel Andrés Messi facility at 11 a.m. and the coach’s subsequent press conference from 1 p.m.
2023-09-10 00:39:00
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