Lionel Messi Is Doubtful About Appearing To Defend The Argentine National Team Against Paraguay

JAKARTA Lionel Messi is doubtful about appearing in the Argentine national team match against Paraguay for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in the South American zone, Friday, October 13, morning.

Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni has so far not been able to confirm whether La Pulga can perform or not in that match even though the player looks in good condition.

"We still have one more training session and one more training session is very important for him... I have to talk to him and make sure that we believe he can start. He looks good. Based on that, we will see other team members," Scaloni said, quoted by NDTV.

Messi joined the 2022 World Cup winning team after returning from injury and entering as a substitute in the second half against Inter Miami in Cincinnati in Major League Soccer last weekend.

The owner of the seven Ballon d'Or has only played 37 minutes for his club since September 3 due to injury from international duty last month.

"What makes us calm is if he [Lionel Messi] is not fit to play then whoever is played [player] must carry out his duties well, that's the most important thing," said Scaloni.

Salah satu opsi bagi Scaloni jika Messi tidak dapat bermain adalah memainkan penyerang Manchester City Julian Alvarez dan pemain Inter Milan Lautaro Martinez sebagai pasangan penyerang.

"They've played together as starters. I'm open to a lot of things. It will depend on the game. It won't be a problem. They're different, but they can play," Scaloni said.

Argentina have won both of their qualifying matches so far and have six points at the top of the standings with Brazil.

Paraguay on the other hand collects one point from their opening game. The result puts them in sixth place, last place to qualify automatically for the 2026 World Cup.