Lionel Scaloni on Messi’s absence: ‘He himself told me he didn’t feel well’

After giving the team the winning goal Argentina vs Ecuador on day 1 CONMEBOL qualifiers On the road to the 2026 North American World Cup, Lionel Messi was rested for Albiceleste’s away game against Bolivia on Tuesday, which the team won 0-3. and held a wonderful exhibition during La Paz’s heyday.

Given the situation, Lionel Scaloni addressed the captain’s absence in his post-match interview with ESPN Argentina: “Well (Messi) has other attributes, other things,

Obviously we always prefer Leo to be there, but if he’s not there we analyze what we can do. We have Di Maria, Nico Gonzalez, Julian (Alvarez) “He did a great job today and everyone else behind him did a great job.”.

you might be interested – Without Messi, Argentina beats Bolivia

In addition to this, when asked about the reason why Messi did not participate in the decision, he added: “He himself told me that he didn’t feel well, it didn’t make sense to him (for him) and it was a difficult stop to get into the altitude.Even taking risks is meaningless“. Albiceleste’s number 10 was substituted after the match against Ecuador and did not train ahead of today’s match against La Verde.

Statement of the parties

Scaloni was also asked what he thought of the level Argentina performed at the Hernando Siles Stadium: “The first half was very complete and the lads played a great ball game and they know how difficult it is to play here.but I think with their ability on the ball and their quality and accuracy it won’t be difficult for them.”.

Messi misses Argentina for final time

most recent match World champion team plays without captain This is the friendly match between Argentina and Indonesia during the South American and Asian tour in June.

as Scaloni used him in the head-to-head match against Australia but then rested him alongside the likes of Ángel Di María and Nicolas Otamendi ahead of a lengthy 2022-23 season Released to go on vacation.