Messi was absent from Argentina’s 3-0 win over Bolivia in September. After that, the striker continued to be absent for a long time at Inter Miami. Despite this player’s Having only returned to play for more than 30 minutes in the match against Cincinnati in the American Professional League, he was still called up by coach Scaloni to the Argentina team.
This strategist did not use Messi as the main player in the match. match against Paraguay this morning (October 13) in the qualifying round World Cup 2026. Instead, he sent Messi onto the field in the 53rd minute. However, El Pulga was not the main character in the battle. Argentina’s 1-0 win over Paraguay. The only scorer to help Argentina win was midfielder Otamendi with a beautiful volley.
Entering this match, Argentina came out with a 4-3-3 formation. La Albiceleste’s attacking trio are Julian Alvarez Lautaro Martinez and Nico Gonzalez. Right in the 3rd minute, the Tango team penetrated the opponent’s net. From De Paul’s corner kick, Otamendi made a beautiful one-touch volley into the Paraguay net.
In the next few minutes Argentina still controlled the ball but they did not push the pace of the game too high. . La Albiceleste’s most dangerous opportunity in the first half belonged to De Paul. The Atletico Madrid player had a shot from distance, sending the ball to the opponent’s goal post.
Minute 53 Messi was put on the field to replace Julian Alvarez. He immediately received the captaincy from Otamendi. After entering the field, El Pulga made an effort to connect with his teammates. However, Argentina did not speed up the match.
Anyway, they held back well and did not allow Paraguay to create many opportunities. In the second minute of injury time, Messi almost got on the scoreboard. From a free kick situation at a distance of about 20 meters, superstar number 10 hit the post.
Even though they could not win big, the Argentine team could still be satisfied with 3 points and maintain their success. Accumulated wins after three matches in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
Competing squad
Argentina : Emiliano Martinez Molina Otamendi Romero Tagliafico De Paul (Lo Celso 90’+4) Mac Allister Enzo Fernandez (Paredes 80′) Nico Gonzalez Alvarez (Messi 53′) Lautaro Martinez.
Paraguay: Carlos Miguel Espinoza Balbuena Gustavo Gomez Junior Alonso (Villasanti 77′) Ivan Ramirez (Rojas 46′) Richard Sanchez Antonio Alvarez (Sanabria 71′) Campuzano (Ojeda 71′) Almiron (Stumpfs 86′) Acosta.
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