There were concerns since the Ecuador match. Those concerns have deepened further as Lionel Messi was absent from the Argentina squad against Bolivia. Argentina’s coach, Lionel Scaloni, has provided the answer to that question.
In the 2026 South American World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador, Argentina won the first match with a goal from Messi. Even without Messi against Bolivia, Argentina won 3-0. The team scored through goals from Enzo Fernandez, Nicolas Tagliafico, and Nicolas Gonzalez. With this victory, Argentina has won all 6 matches played in the World Cup qualifiers. Along this path, Argentina has scored 17 goals but has not conceded any.
It was natural for the question to arise at the end of the match why captain Messi was not in the squad, and Coach Scaloni has explained, “Leo (Messi) was not prepared for the game. We did not take any risk with him. He has been trying to get fit lately, but he was not completely fit. And we didn’t need to play him in this match because there is more important time ahead. This pitch was very difficult. Even if he had played, he could have been injured.”
