Lionel Messi had more than 40 exciting minutes on the field after coming on as a substitute, contributing to a 1-0 win over Paraguay and helping world champion Argentina maintain a 3-match winning streak at the start of the qualifying round. World Cup 2026 South America. The 36-year-old superstar also had a mild reaction after he was spat at by an opposing player.
Lionel Messi and the controversial situation with Paraguay striker Antonio Sanabria.
In the 85th minute, Paraguay striker Antonio Sanabria was seen spitting at Messi after an argument, and when the Argentine superstar turned his back. “Honestly, I didn’t see it. My teammates told me in the locker room that he spat at me. I don’t know who this guy is and I don’t want to make a big deal out of it,” Messi said softly about the incident.
After Nicolas Otamendi opened the scoring in the 3rd minute with a beautiful volley, Messi began warming up immediately after the break to the delight of the home crowd at Monumental. After entering the field in the 53rd minute, the player wearing the Inter Miami shirt caused a lot of trouble for the away team, and was unlucky when the ball found the post twice. But Messi is happy to continue to get more minutes after injuring a muscle in his right leg and sitting out the last few matches at the club.
“I’m happy to be playing again. The important thing is that we won and played well, especially in the first half,” Messi shared. “I came here after only playing a few minutes for my club. We talked and planned how I felt for the week. The idea is to add more training sessions in the following days before our next match.”
Lionel Messi is more confident in his performance and shows that he is ready to play again.
Argentina will travel to Peru in their next match on October 17. Coach Lionel Scaloni still cannot confirm whether his captain will play from the start: “We will talk in the coming days to determine his condition. Leo has two more training sessions to continue adding minutes on the field. At this point, I’m not ruling out any options. Leo can play from the start, as a substitute or not play at all. But today, I think it’s very risky for him to have a lot of playing time. We talked about it and we agree on it, and I think it’s wise.”
This result continues the impressive series of the team led by coach Scaloni, the team won 36, drew 13 and lost only one in the last 50 matches, and scored 108 goals only conceding 25 times.
