Messi left out as Argentina beats Bolivia in World Cup qualifier

With Messi watching on, Argentina cruised to a 3-0 win

Lionel Messi was left out of Argentina’s squad for Tuesday’s 2026 World Cup qualifier at Bolivia, but the defending champions still cruised to a 3-0 win.

Messi’s status for the match in La Paz was in doubt after he did not train with his teammates on Monday.

In Argentina’s opening World Cup qualifier against Ecuador on Friday, Messi scored a stunning free-kick winner and later requested to be substituted due to what he called fatigue.

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said after the game that Messi “felt something” and would undergo further tests ahead of the match at Bolivia.

Though Messi travelled with his teammates to Bolivia, the Inter Miami star was ultimately not risked for the game at Estadio Hernando Siles.

Messi watched on from the bench as Argentina emerged victorious, with goals from Enzo Fernández, Nicolás Tagliafico and Nicolás González carrying the World Cup champions.

After the game, Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni said Messi tried to pass a late fitness test, but ultimately was deemed too much of an injury risk.

“Leo wasn’t ready to play. Today he tried to recover but he didn’t feel comfortable so we didn’t want to risk him,” Scaloni said after the game.

“It wasn’t necessary because important games are coming. And it was a difficult game, even him coming from the bench could be an injury risk.”

(Photo by Jorge Bernal / AFP)

Messi is currently tied with his longtime Barcelona teammate Luis Suárez on 29 South American World Cup qualifying goals, which is the most of all time.

Messi, 36, has already played 11 matches with Inter Miami after only joining the MLS club less than two months ago. That heavy fixture pile-up was increased by Miami’s run to the Leagues Cup title last month.

Inter Miami is next in action on Saturday against Atlanta United, with Messi’s status unclear for the match at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

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With the weight of a nation on his shoulders, Lionel Messi delivers again

Argentina’s talisman came though when his national team, and his country, needed it the most

LUSAIL, Qatar – He’s 35 now, no longer quite the quicksilver dribbling phenomenon he once was, torturing opposing defenses, dominating some of the highest-level matches of the 21st century. He’s a more mercurial presence, drifting, watching, walking for long stretches as he waits for the optimal moments to expend his energy to change games, just as apt to do so with a pass as a shot.But Lionel Messi is still Lionel Messi. And he can still hoist a nation of 47 million soccer-obsessed people onto his back and carry them forward on the stage they love the most.Somewhere around 88,000 souls had the privilege of witnessing his latest such act in person at glittering, pulsating Lusail Stadium on Saturday night. That’s where Messi delivered Argentina — both the national team and the nation — from the collective agony they’ve been suffering since the shock 2-1 upset loss at the hands of Saudi Arabia.After more than an hour of tense, fraught and frankly ugly play, due in no small part to Mexico’s defensive tactics, Messi popped up in a fleeting pocket of space in Zone 14 to clip a daisy-cutting strike past Memo Ochoa to break the deadlock and spark euphoria, or perhaps something stronger and more haunting than that, among the legions of sky blue and white-clad supporters.“The days were very long, that’s how they felt, and we were eager to have a chance to turn the situation around. It was a critical game,” said Messi in Spanish in the postgame press conference, alluding to the opportunity to “start again” after this victory. “We knew that if we won today, we’d have another chance … It was a weight off our shoulders and peace of mind.”How much weight? On the Argentina bench, retired legend turned assistant coach Pablo Aimar wept next to manager Lionel Scaloni, visibly wracked with emotion as the tension broke. Afterwards manager Scaloni was asked about the moment.

“It’s what you live when you are here,” he said. “The feeling that you are playing something more than a football match, that’s not nice, and that is what I was feeling … the feeling we all had was relief, and of course it is difficult to make people understand that tomorrow the sun will shine whether we win or lose.”This truly was a group-stage match with the jitters and the zero-sum vibe of a knockout match. Mexico’s Argentine manager Gerardo “Tata” Martino, said to be a favorite of Messi’s, who coached him on both the national team and FC Barcelona, went defensive with his lineup and shape, a 5-3-2 formation intended to stymie Messi & Co., and it just about worked.“The idea was to stop their midfield and then counterattack very quickly, finding spaces. We did achieve that in some ways, but we missed the final pass,” said the former Atlanta United coach, who now faces a steep road to reach the knockout stages and the withering public criticism that inevitably comes with that.Though it was a far cry from the vibrant, proactive El Tri sides of the past, much less Martino’s own high-octane philsophical identity, it seemed to frustrate Scaloni’s team and the mounting tension in this lavish bowl was palpable. Could Messi’s fifth World Cup really end in the group phase?It took a formation change to a 3-5-2 by the Albiceleste and some trademark Messi magic to provide the answer they sought.“Tata’s groups predominantly have the ball, get lots of numbers into the box, push the wingers high – it was quite the opposite, thus it was quite a closed game,” said Argentine midfielder Rodrigo De Paul. “But I think we had patience.”

Credit: Yukihito Taguchi-USA TODAY Sports

Many had predicted this would be Argentina’s tournament. It’s Messi’s last dance (most likely) and quite possibly the apex of a group of players who with last year’s Copa America title finally cured their habit of losing finals. Losing to the unfancied Saudis right out of the gate had thrown all that into question, and a country with more psychologists per capita than anywhere on earth is expert at fretting over their team.“This brings us more calmness. After the loss I was very anxious, and wanted to reverse the situation. I really wanted the win,” said Messi, who surprised reporters by taking questions in the postgame mixed zone in addition to his role in the press conference as man of the match.“We have confidence in our group, our team. We haven’t lost much and we can’t reverse that because of just one loss, but it wasn’t easy to come and play against Mexico, which has a great national team, one that plays well, that runs a lot. It was a unique situation because we knew that one loss would make it very hard, and for many this was the second game in a World Cup, and all of that adds up.”

(Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Messi and Argentina may well mount the march to the final that so many expected them to make; their next chance to display their championship credentials arrives on Wednesday versus Poland. This night’s drama suggests we’ll be on the edge of our seats whatever the outcome.“The feelings of joy and happiness that we won, of course they are there and they enjoy that in the dressing room. But that’s it, tomorrow we will prepare for the next game,” said Scaloni, whose team celebrated raucously in their Lusail locker room long after the final whistle. “We need to find that emotional balance when we win, when we lose.“On top of having great players,” he added, “we have Leo.”

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No goals and no Edson: Three thoughts from Mexico’s World Cup loss to Argentina

Mexico is on the brink of a group-stage exit for the first time since 1978

Mexico couldn’t be eliminated no matter the result of Saturday’s World Cup group match against Argentina, but the 2-0 loss to the South Americans puts El Tri on the brink of their first group stage exit from the World Cup since 1978.After a cagey first half that saw El Tri fluster Argentina in the Copa America champions’ final third, the second saw goals from Lionel Messi and Enzo Fernandez make the difference. Argentina stayed alive in its push to get out of the group stage after a shock loss to Saudi Arabia in the first group game.Here are three thoughts as Mexico now looks to work out a great escape to get out of the group’s basement and into the round of 16 for the eighth consecutive time:

Mexico game plan comes undone in one moment

Mexico set up in a way that was designed to fluster Argentina star Messi and the rest of Argentina’s powerful attack. But this was the type of game where a moment of magic could arrive at any time, in which 30 seconds switched off could make the difference.

That moment arrived in the 64th minute, as Messi took a touch and fired past Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa.

“We made a mistake that had to do with the three midfielders coming together in the same area as Argentina and when we weren’t able to stop that build and the opponent turned us around, they found Messi alone and he hit the goal from a medium distance, but I don’t think it was a game in which he found a lot of space in the final third,” Martino answered testily after a journalist asked him in the news conference about leaving Messi plenty of space.

“But I also understand that Argentina’s goals can change the view of what happened over the 90 minutes. Normally, that happens because you guys normally analyze results.”

Call it lazy journalism if you must, but the result is what matters here. If Mexico played a terrible match and came away with a 1-0 win, its prospects of getting out of the group and continuing toward its ultimate goal of winning the World Cup would be much stronger.

Going into a match Mexico had a game plan that, as Martino himself said in his news conference, anticipated few attacking opportunities and relied on getting a goal on a set piece or other chance encounter. That sets a team up for failure when, predictably, one of the best players in the world makes a great play.

It’s a strange game to go with that strategy, but it’s what Martino and his staff did. Now, they’re very much working from behind going into the final match.

(Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images) 

Midfield eventually breaks down as Martino drops Edson

El Tri kept a three-man midfield but changed personnel as Martino went from a 4-3-3 in the first game to a 5-3-2 in the second. But this change saw Martino drop Edson Alvarez, who has been one of the national team’s most consistent performers.

Reports in Mexico indicate that the Ajax player’s late arrival into Mexico’s camp in Spain before the World Cup meant he didn’t have as much time to get familiar with the formation change, leading Martino to utilize experienced midfielders Andres Guardado and Hector Herrera with Luis Chavez behind them.

While Martino couldn’t have seen the knock to Guardado in the first half coming, it’s been obvious all cycle that Guardado and HH aren’t able to hang with a top team for 90 minutes any longer.

“Edson? Nothing. I understood this was the team that had to start,” Martino said when asked if Alvarez was kept out for an injury or another reason. But he could’ve used the Ajax ace in the middle, especially considering Alvarez has the versatility to slot into the center back line if Martino truly wanted to utilize the midfield trio he had.

The midfielders weren’t the only players to run out of gas.

With the strategy of having typical wingers Hirving “Chucky” Lozano and Alexis Vega start up top and essentially take on the entire Argentina defense on their own, the players both ended up coming off looking worse for the wear.

“We had thought the tiredness of the two forwards was going to be significant, and we’d have to make changes. We trained in that way. We decided on the Vega change, Chucky asked to come out just before the Argentina goal and that’s where we re-accommodated and went to our habitual system taking a guy out of the back five.”

That Martino’s plan took into account the amount of running the two forward players would be doing but apparently not what he was asking from Guardado, HH and Chavez is puzzling. A platoon approach may have worked better or even sacrificing Herrera rather than Alvarez to go with a player more recently asked to shut down top players in the UEFA Champions League.

(AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Mexico needs goals and goals and goals, but from where?

El Tri’s scenarios to advance are clear and all of them involve, first and foremost, beating Saudi Arabia.

Mexico also could use some help in the other game, though there are ways through with all possible results. If Poland beats Argentina and Mexico gets the win, El Tri advance. If Argentina wins and drives Poland’s goal difference down, Mexico can advance with some goals of its own in a victory. A draw in the other game combined with a Mexico win by four or more also would see Mexico move through in second place.

Clearly, the most likely scenarios to get through involve Mexico not only beating Saudi Arabia, but also scoring more than once. But where are those goals going to come from? After 180 minutes of soccer, Mexico is yet to find the back of the net. It’s clear Raul Jimenez has only about a half-hour in the tank. We’ve yet to see Martino lean on Rogelio Funes Mori. And while Lozano and Vega both have had good performances in each of the first two contests, they both work better with a No. 9 to set up after creating from the wing.

“While we still have a chance, we’ll keep trying. It definitely will be difficult,” Martino said. “The second Poland goal hurt us, and Argentina’s second goal hurt us more.”

It’s true that Enzo Fernandez’s goal was a big blow for Mexico. But Martino knew this was the situation from the moment the draw was revealed. Even still, he left creative players like Diego Lainez off his roster and never made up with Mexico’s all-time leading scorer Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez.

A game like Saturday’s was screaming for a player who could come off the bench and make something from nothing for himself, or a gritty player in the middle to claw a goal back. Instead, Mexico now is heading into the last match wondering how it can score all the goals it needs to extend its tournament.

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It had to be him: Messi saves Argentina, putting Mexico on the brink

In a game devoid of quality, the legend stepped up with a moment of brilliance

Argentina needed someone to step up and save its World Cup status. It’s not hard to guess who was there to fill the role of hero.

Midway through the second half of a scoreless game against Mexico, one filled with rough challenges and devoid of any attacking quality, Lionel Messi stepped up with a moment of brilliance to make the difference.

Argentina, of course, entered the game on the back of one of the most stunning results in World Cup history: a 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia that left one of the pre-tournament favorites needing to avoid defeat against Mexico, or be eliminated in their second game.

A draw would have left them in a precarious position as well, though. Only three points would really do for the Albiceleste.

For a while on Saturday at Lusail Stadium, those three points looked elusive. Lacking any real attacking threat of its own, Mexico succeeded in turning the game into a slugfest. By the 64th minute, it was difficult to see where the goals would come from for either side.

But that’s when Messi stepped up and did what he does best. Needing just a few feet of space from around 25 yards out, he drove an inch-perfect fizzing low shot into the far corner.

With the game entering its final moments, Enzo Fernández buried an insurance goal to give Argentina a desperately needed 2-0 win.

There’s all to play for in Group C entering the final matches, with Mexico still having a chance to advance despite sitting in last place with one point. Argentina and Saudi Arabia are on three points apiece while Poland tops the group with four.

But Argentina now has a platform to go forward and make the kind of deep run so many expected. Without their superstar, Argentina may have been pondering a much different fate after Saturday’s game.

Watch Messi’s winner vs. Mexico

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Neymar’s ankle injury could be a big problem for Brazil

Brazil won the battle against Serbia, but it may have lost the war

Brazil won its World Cup opener against Serbia, but it may have suffered a major loss as Neymar went down with an ankle injury in Thursday’s game.

Neymar went down under a rough second-half challenge from Nikola Milenkovic. After playing on for 11 minutes, the Brazil star was withdrawn in the 80th minute.

It wasn’t clear how bad the injury was, but two images painted a worrying picture for Brazil.

Neymar was shown on the bench distraught, nearly in tears, suggesting he was concerned about his ability to carry on at the tournament. Then there was the sight of his extremely swollen right ankle as he limped off the pitch.

TOPSHOT – Brazil’s forward #10 Neymar walks with a swollen ankle at the end of the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group G football match between Brazil and Serbia at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, north of Doha on November 24, 2022. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP)

Cameras also captured Neymar walking very gingerly after the game.

Neymar to get MRI

Brazil made its team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar available at the post-game press conference following the 2-0 win over Serbia.

“Neymar had an injury on the right ankle, direct trauma,” said Lasmar. “Due to the shock that he had with the knee of the Serbian player, we started immediately the treatment on the bench. He continued with the treatment with the physiotherapy.

“We need 24-48 hours to have a better understanding through the MRI. Tomorrow we will have a new assessment. Now we need to wait, we cannot make any premature comments on his evolution. We need to wait.”

Though Lasmar sounded a note of caution, Brazil coach Tite was more bullish on his star’s chances of playing more at the World Cup.

“Neymar, he felt this pain throughout the game,” Tite said. “But he decided to stay on the pitch to help the team. It’s remarkable that he could bear this pain while the team is playing.

“You can be sure that Neymar will play in the World Cup. He will play in the Cup.”

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Handsome Herve Renard and Saudi Arabia stun Argentina in all-time World Cup upset

Argentina had Messi, but the Saudis had skill, savvy and a hot coach on their side

You wouldn’t necessarily have blamed Argentina for overlooking Saudi Arabia in their World Cup opener.

After all, the Albiceleste were riding a 36-game unbeaten run and were tipped as one of the favorites to win the whole thing. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, came in ranked 51st in the world, having only advanced past the World Cup group stage once in its history, in 1994.

But on Tuesday, the impossible happened in one of the most stunning results in World Cup history: Saudi Arabia 2, Argentina 1.

It all started normally enough when Lionel Messi opened the scoring for Argentina with a 10th-minute penalty. From there, Argentina would’ve expected to kick on and hammer their overmatched foe.

But, despite a myriad of chances, the Argentines were unable to find a second goal. And at the start of the second half, Saudi Arabia hit its opponent with a stunning one-two punch: Saleh al-Shehri scored in the 48th minute and Salem al-Dawsari scored a stunner five minutes later.

The Saudis hung on from there to secure what will almost certainly be the biggest upset of this World Cup on just the third day of play.

Argentina’s Lionel Messi reacts disappointed during the World Cup group C soccer match between Argentina and Saudi Arabia at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

The result was a major feather in the cap for Hervé Renard, Saudi Arabia’s well traveled and extremely handsome French head coach.

Renard has fashioned himself as a tournament specialist during his coaching career, leading a host of Asian and African teams to major success.

The 54-year-old led Zambia to a shocking triumph at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, before leading Ivory Coast to the title in the same competition three years later.

Renard then took over Morocco after a brief stint in club management with Lille, leading the African nation to the 2018 World Cup, the first time it had qualified for the tournament in 20 years.

Even amid a host of other accomplishments, Tuesday’s win over Argentina stands out for Renard, who is becoming known worldwide for far more than just his stunning features.

Watch Saudi Arabia stun Argentina

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Hey, is that a MLS player on Argentina’s World Cup roster?

Atlanta United’s Thiago Almada will be joining Lionel Messi and co. in Qatar

By most accounts, Argentina is the favorite, or at least co-favorite to win the World Cup.

And now, in something of a milestone for MLS, the league will feature a player on said World Cup favorite: Atlanta United midfielder Thiago Almada.

Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni called Almada into his World Cup squad on Thursday as an injury replacement, with the 21-year-old joining Ángel Correa as the pair replacing Nicolás González and Joaquín Correa.

Almada joined Atlanta United from from Vélez Sarsfield prior to the 2022 season for a reported league-record transfer fee of $16 million.

In his debut MLS campaign, Almada put up six goals and 12 assists en route to being named the MLS Newcomer of the Year.

That form earned Almada his first Argentina cap in September and although he did not make the country’s initial 26-man roster, he was named as an alternate and got the nod after two players went down injured.

After making his international debut, Almada was praised by none other than his teammate Lionel Messi.

“Thiago is very fresh,” Messi said. “He’s a very fast player who can play one-v-one. He’s clever and isn’t afraid of anything.”

Almada is the first active Atlanta United player to represent his country at a World Cup, and the first MLS player to represent Argentina at the tournament.

For MLS, Almada is one of a league-high 37 players who are on World Cup rosters. Canada (11) and the United States (9) make up over half that amount, but there is also representation from Australia, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Poland, Switzerland, Uruguay, and now, Argentina.

No active MLS player has ever won a World Cup. Almada is clearly the strongest candidate the league has ever had to break that streak.

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Yunus Musah reveals the World Cup advice he got from Edinson Cavani

Ahead of his fourth World Cup, the Valencia veteran had some advice for his young teammate

Yunus Musah is about to take part in his first World Cup. His teammate at Valencia, Edinson Cavani, is about to play in his fourth.

So naturally, Musah had some questions.

As the U.S. national team continues preparing for Monday’s World Cup opener against Wales, Musah said he had spoken to his Uruguayan counterpart about what to expect from the tournament.

“I spoke to [Cavani] because I wanted to know what [the World Cup] is like,” Musah said at a press conference. “He told me that sometimes people say that there is an easy group or a difficult one, but every team wants to do something good. The competition comes every four years and they all go at full strength, so there is no easy group,” the USMNT midfielder said.

Cavani ironically took part in what many considered to be one of the easiest groups in recent memory in 2018, as Uruguay was drawn with Russia, Saudi Arabia and Egypt in Group A. Uruguay won all three games, but host Russia surprised by winning two games and eventually reaching the quarterfinal.

Uruguay also reached the last eight in 2018, where it fell to eventual champion France. Cavani has reached the knockout stage in all three of his previous World Cups, with Uruguay making it all the way to the semifinal in 2010.

Musah will be hoping to help the USMNT get out of Group B, where it will face Wales, England and Iran.

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Brazil’s World Cup roster has nine forwards and old man Dani Alves

There is some serious firepower on this squad

Brazil has released its roster for the 2022 World Cup, which includes 39-year-old defender Dani Alves and nine forwards.

The Seleção are one of the tournament favorites, and the sheer quality of players both on and off the roster is testament to their strength.

Nine forwards are included in a high-powered group including Neymar, Vinicius Jr, Gabriel Jesus and Antony, among others.

But there was not room for the likes of longtime Liverpool star Roberto Firmino, as well as Atlético Madrid forward Matheus Cunha.

In defense, Brazil brought along 38-year-old Thiago Silva and Dani Alves, with Roma’s Roger Ibañez and Arsenal’s Gabriel Magalhães missing out.

Alves was a particularly notable choice, with the veteran right back having moved to Mexican side Pumas over the summer, where he’s made 12 appearances.

Brazil coach Tite acknowledged that many observers questioned the selection of Alves, but said he wasn’t concerned about pleasing everyone.

“He is one of the captains of the team,” Tite said at a news conference.

“I didn’t come here to please people on Twitter, which I don’t even know what percentage of the Brazilian people they represent. I respect differing opinions and I’m not here to convince everyone.”

Brazil has been drawn into Group G alongside Cameroon, Serbia and Switzerland.

Brazil World Cup roster

Goalkeepers: Alisson (Liverpool), Ederson (Manchester City), Weverton (Palmeiras).

Defenders: Bremer (Juventus), Eder Militao (Real Madrid) Marquinhos (PSG), Thiago Silva (Chelsea), Danilo (Juventus), Daniel Alves (Pumas), Alex Sandro (Juventus), Alex Telles (Sevilla).

Midfielders: Bruno Guimaraes (Newcastle), Casemiro (Manchester United), Everton Ribeiro (Flamengo), Fabinho (Liverpool), Fred (Manchester United), Lucas Paqueta (West Ham).

Forwards: Antony (Manchester United), Gabriel Jesus (Arsenal), Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal), Neymar Jr (Paris Saint-Germain), Pedro (Flamengo), Raphinha (Barcelona), Richarlison (Tottenham), Rodrygo (Real Madrid), Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid)

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It’s time to start paying attention to Endrick

The 16-year-old is looking like the next big thing out of Brazil

Even though he only turned 16 three months ago, the hype around Endrick has been building for some time.

Endrick scored 165 goals in 169 youth games for Brazilian side Palmeiras, gaining the attention of scouts from all over the world.

Now he’s starting to prove he can hack it with the grown-ups as well.

The teenager scored for Palmeiras in a 3-1 win over Athletico Paranaense on Tuesday, becoming the youngest player in the 106-year history of his club to find the net.

After scoring with his head, Endrick emulated Erling Haaland with his finger-in-his-ear celebration, even tagging the Man City star on Instagram.

Clubs all over Europe are well aware of Endrick’s exploits, with reports linking him to PSG, Liverpool and Real Madrid, among others. He reportedly has a €60 million release clause.

Marca has reported that Madrid may be the favorite, which wouldn’t be a surprise given the club’s worldwide appeal and its recent success in landing Brazilian teenagers like Vinícius Jr. and Rodrygo.

Endrick won’t be eligible to move to Europe until he turns 18 in July 2024, but the race to lock down his signature is well underway. By the time he actually does join a European club, the hype could be well and truly off the rails.

Whatever happens now, the world will be paying attention.

Watch Endrick’s first pro goal

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