The Argentina national team secured a 1-0 victory over Venezuela in a friendly match held at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Friday, despite the absence of Lionel Messi.
Messi was present at the game, watching from the stands with his family.
Argentina’s coach, Lionel Scaloni, mentioned, “I decided that Leo [Messi] would not play. We wanted to test Lautaro [Martinez] and Julian [Alvarez], with Jose Manuel Lopez on the bench as an option. Ultimately, Lopez didn’t get to play, but he’ll be in the next match. It was simply my choice.”
Even without Messi, La Albiceleste managed to triumph against Venezuela, with Giovani Lo Celso scoring the only goal, set up by teammate Lautaro Martínez. Argentina dominated the match with 19 shots, 11 of which were on target.
Scaloni remained optimistic about Messi’s participation in the upcoming friendly against Puerto Rico on October 14, stating, “Let’s hope Messi can be there on Tuesday; we will see how things develop in the days to come.”
Argentina midfielder and Messi’s teammate at Inter Miami, Rodrigo De Paul, also started on the bench, coming in during the second half for Julián Álvarez of Atlético Madrid.
Meanwhile, Inter Miami’s head coach Javier Mascherano expressed his eagerness to have Messi play in the upcoming match against Atlanta United in a regular-season Major League Soccer game, scheduled for Saturday night, just one day after Argentina’s friendly. However, he clarified that he had not discussed Messi’s participation with him.
“I would love to have Leo Messi. Imagine the possibilities! The reality is that he hasn’t been with us, and I’m reiterating that because we’re talking about Leo,” Mascherano commented. “But there’s also Rodrigo [De Paul], there’s Telasco… Messi can join at any time, obviously. However, I can’t speculate on a scenario where he isn’t available, and I haven’t spoken to Leo. We will see what happens tonight.”
Although Inter Miami has already qualified for the 2025 MLS playoffs, the team aims to secure a higher position in the Eastern Conference to ensure home-field advantage during the postseason.
Argentina also announced that Franco Mastantuono will miss the remainder of the training camp due to a left thigh injury.