Lionel Messi watched from the stands at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium as Argentina narrowly beat fellow South Americans Venezuela 1-0 in a friendly match.
The 38-year-old had been in doubt before kick-off, with Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni insisting he was “not going to take any risks”.
And of course, the Argentina captain played no part in the contest, which was decided by a goal from former Tottenham midfielder Giovani Lo Celso shortly after the half-hour mark.
Despite the scoreline, the reigning world champions, who have already secured a place in the 2026 World Cup finals, were largely dominant throughout the match.
Scaloni backed his decision to rest Messi, saying he hoped the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner would feature in a friendly against Puerto Rico in Fort Lauderdale next week.
“The decision that Leo [Messi] “I won’t play, it was my decision,” Scaloni said.
“We wanted to test Lautaro [Martinez] and Julien [Alvarez]but we had Flaco (Lopez) on the bench, but he couldn’t come in and will play the next game. Hopefully Leo can star in the next one.
The Argentina head coach also highlighted the benefits of playing against a “difficult” team like Venezuela, adding that it was a good performance for his team as they look to defend their crown next summer.
Scaloni said: “The test will help us a lot. All the opponents are difficult, especially since they play us at 100%.
“There are no easy opponents. We won, but that’s not the important thing, we wanted to see how the team was doing and gain a few minutes.
“It is essential to start from a solid defense because we have players in attack to do damage.”
