Messi back in Argentina’s squad for World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela and Bolivia
Lionel Messi returns to the Argentina national team for the South American World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela and Bolivia.
The 37-year-old star had missed recent matches due to an ankle injury.
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Coach Lionel Scaloni announced his selection on Wednesday for the matches in Venezuela on October 10 and five days later in Buenos Aires against Bolivia.
Messi did not play in the previous two rounds after sustaining an injury in the Copa America final against Colombia. Argentina won 1-0.
Argentina leads the South American qualifying with 18 points, followed by Colombia (16) and Uruguay (15). The top six teams will qualify for the 2026 World Cup, and seventh place will play an international play-off for a place.
Selection:
Goalkeepers: Walter Bentez (PSV Eindhoven), Gernimo Rulli (Olympique Marseille), Juan Musso (Atletico Madrid)
Defenders: Gonzalo Montiel (Sevilla), Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid), Cristian Romero (Tottenham), Germn Pezzella (River Plate), Marcos Acua (River Plate), Leonardo Balerdi (Olympique Marseille), Nicols Otamendi (Benfica), Lisandro Martnez (Manchester United), Nicols Tagliafico (Lyon)
Midfielders: Leandro Paredes (Roma), Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool), Enzo Fernndez (Chelsea), Giovani Lo Celso (Real Betis), Nicols Paz (Como), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Rodrigo de Paul (Atletico Madrid), Valentn Carboni (Olympique Marseille)
Forwards: Thiago Almada (Botafogo), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Nicols Gonzlez (Juventus), Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United), Julin lvarez (Atletico Madrid), Paulo Dybala (Roma), Lautaro Martnez (Inter Milan).
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
First publication: Oct 3, 2024 | 2:37 PM IST