New Delhi, March 17 (IANS) Lionel Messi has been rested by Argentina ahead of their two FIFA World Cup qualifiers games which was confirmed after head coach Lionel Scaloni announced the 26-man squad on Monday. Alongside Messi, Paulo Dybala also misses out on his third consecutive national team duty through injury.
Messi was sidelined for his last three league games at Inter Miami due to ‘fatigue’ and made a return to his side during the 2-1 win over Atlanta United on Monday (IST). Javier Mascherano, head coach of his club side, explained that Messi is not injured and sat out the games purely as a precaution but is now said to be facing discomfort.
Argentina have had the most points after each match day so far, and goal difference is the only reason they have not topped the table right from the very start of qualifying. Even so, Lionel Scaloni’s Albiceleste moved top after the third round of fixtures and have been there ever since.
After their Copa America triumph, with Lionel Messi out injured, Argentina suffered two of their three defeats of this qualification campaign (against Colombia and Paraguay) and dropped points when they drew with Venezuela, all of which came away from home.
This has not done much to halt their charge, however, as they are still five points clear of second-placed Uruguay, and the chasing pack continues to stumble – only three points separate second and sixth in the table.
Given that seventh-placed Bolivia can only reach a maximum of 31 points, Argentina only need to pick up seven points from an available 18 to guarantee their automatic qualification for the FIFA World Cup 26. The problem they face is that their next two opponents are Uruguay (March 21) and Brazil ( March 25), two fellow South American giants.
Argentina squad:
Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Geronimo Rulli (Marseille Olympique), Walter Benítez (PSV Eindhoven), Nahuel Molina (Atletico de Madrid), Juan Foyth (Villarreal), Cristian Romero (Tottenham Hotspur), German Pezzella (River Plate), Leonardo Balerdi (Marseille Olympique), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Facundo Medina (Racing Club de Lens), Nicolas Tagliafico (Olympique de Lyon), Leandro Paredes (AS Roma), Enzo Fernández (Chelsea), Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico de Madrid), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer 04 Leverkusen), Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool), Máximo Perrone (Like 1907), Giuliano Simeone (Atlético de Madrid), Benjamin Domínguez (Bologna FC), Thiago Almada (Olympique de Lyon), Nicolas Gonzalez (Juventus), Angel Correa (Atletico de Madrid), Nicolas Paz (Like 1907), Julian Alvarez (Atlético de Madrid), Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan), Santiago Castro (Bologna FC).
–IANS
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