The strategist of the Argentine national team Lionel Scaloni came out this Sunday to speak of the possible absence of Lionel Messi on matchday 2 of the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup against Bolivia in La Paz, ensuring that the player will travel with the team but that he still does not know if he will be a starter.
After a couple of days of rumors about Messi’s physical condition, who asked for a change on matchday 1 against Ecuador minutes after scoring the winning goal, Scaloni has now confirmed his presence at the Hernán Siles stadium in La Paz.
“Travel, will travel. Today he trained differently. There are still two days left until the game. We will make the decision tomorrow or on Tuesday.. “We are ready to face the game in the best conditions,” said the coach at a press conference.
However, something that surprised those present is that at no time did Scaloni mention Messi’s illness, which according to reports pointed to overload in his right thigh.
“Both of them (Messi and Cuti Romero) are fit to face the match. We will see the decision if it is to start, later or even not play. They only trained differentiated by the typical precautions“, explained the coach of the ‘Albiceleste’, who, in response to the insistence on Messi’s ownership, remarked: “If he is good, he plays.”
The complexity of playing in Bolivia due to the height was one of the constant questions that the press asked the coach.
“It has an added difficulty, but under no circumstances am I going to complain. Everyone has to travel there. It is something that cannot be prepared on the plain, we would have to travel a few days before and other aspects are worked on,” said Scaloni.
Finally Scaloni spoke about what could be the starting lineup for this Tuesday’s matchensuring that initial training will not be available until the morning of the commitment.
“Initially, the idea is to repeat, capable, with some variations. They may be the entry of these two boys (Julián Álvarez and Ángel Di María) or not, but I repeat, we will not make the decision until the morning before the game. The idea is there,” the Argentina coach concluded.
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