“This team has now reached a stage where they can play the same game whether Leo is on the field or not,” says Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni. When he took over after the 2018 World Cup, Messi was in self-imposed exile.
At first, he fixed the scattered Argentina left by Sampaoli. Then he brought Messi in and gave it perfection. Young coach Scaloni has since passed 7 years. The success story is known to everyone. 4 titles, including the World Cup. And the main centerpiece on the stage of all the titles was Lionel Messi. Who repeatedly made the difference.
It is not wrong to rely on one of the greatest stars of all time, and it was not the case with Argentina either. However, Messi is getting older day by day. In other words, he is in the twilight of his career. He took the field against Chile a few days ago, that too after seven months. Injuries now repeatedly set him back. However, the relationship between injuries and Lionel Messi has never been very close.
Messi himself may now know that it is difficult to compete with the intense physical football of the Latin region. So he wants to keep himself alive for the 2026 World Cup. And accepting that reality, coach Lionel Scaloni is also preparing the Argentina of the future. The proof that that mission has been largely successful is the last two matches. The victory came against Chile without Messi. After replacing Messi again, the ten-man Argentina ended the match in a draw against Colombia.
Lionel Scaloni highlighted the team’s situation in front of the Argentine media. He said that his disciples are ready to take the field without Messi for any reason, ‘This team has now reached a stage where they can offer the same game whether Leo is on the field or not. Before, the situation was more complicated and today we don’t need that, the team is managed the same way.’
In the match against Colombia, Argentina had 10 players. The Albiceleste were even behind by 1 goal. In such a situation, Messi was needed the most. But Scaloni took LM10. Almada equalized after Messi went on. But why didn’t Messi play?
In response, Scaloni said that the decision not to play was Messi’s, ‘He doesn’t leave the field like that, but when he saw that we were making two changes, he told me that it would be better for him to go out. So I took him on. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have taken him on.’
After two matches with the national team, Messi returned to his club Inter Miami. They are currently busy with the Club World Cup. Miami will start their Club World Cup campaign with a match against Al Ahli on Sunday morning Bangladesh time. The 37-year-old Messi has a strong chance of playing in it.
