Argentina has learned to face the absence of Lionel Messi and no longer needs to rejuvenate the programming when the Inter Miami striker is not available, said director Lionel Scaloni before the qualifier of the World Cup on Wednesday against Colombia.
Since its senior beginnings in 2005, Messi scored 112 goals in 192 appearances for Argentina, winning the World Cup in 2022, two titles of Copa America and a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
The 37-year-old captain missed Argentina’s 1-0 victory over Uruguay and 4-1 parading Brazil rivals in March due to an injury, with the Scaloni team securing their place during the 2026 World Cup during this international break.
He returned to the team for the qualifications of the World Cup this month and made a substitute appearance in the 1-0 victory of Argentina against Chile last week.
“The team is now at a time when he can play in the same way with Leo [Messi] Or without Leo, which was more complex in the past because we had to change certain players, “said Scaloni to journalists before the match in Buenos Aires.
“But now we don’t have this necessity and the team works the same way, that’s good.”
While Argentina has already qualified for the World Cup in North America, Colombia is in the sixth and last place of automatic qualification and will seek a certain distance between them and the seventh Venezuela placed with a victory.
Colombia beat Argentina 2-1 when the games met for the last time during the World Cup qualifications in September.
“It’s a big team, and with great players, and he has a clear style that can get you into trouble,” said Scaloni.
“We have analyzed it, we have shown players their forces and what we want to enjoy. It will be a good game, especially because we play at home, so it’s good for our people to see the players.”
