The alarms went off when all the footballers appeared on the grounds of the University of Qatar and Messi was missing, who only gave up five minutes later and trained alone on one side.
It is that with the recent history of the departures of Joaquín Correa -left knee problem- and Nicolás González -muscular injury- and arrivals of Ángel Correa and Thiago Almada -both trained with the group-, any momentary absence, and more than Messi generates fears and doubts around.
Messi’s non-presence at the beginning had an impact to such an extent that silence took over those present and upon seeing it many applauded and encouraged.
The captain did not wear the same bibs as his teammates, although there is no official information about any possible injury and everything indicates that he will end up starting in his debut.
Messi, who played the entire game in the last friendly against the United Arab Emirates, began with warm-up and activation movements while his teammates made some passes and work with the ball.
“He played the 90 minutes a few days ago, it is normal that now he does differentiated to avoid muscular overloads”they affirmed from the environment of the technical body to Télam.
In addition, the same sources confirmed to Télam that he “knows his body” and that they sought to take care of him to “not demand more” in the muscular loads that he presented after the game.
It is that Messi usually does differentiated training in general when he comes from a 90-minute game at PSG, to the point that the same thing happened on Friday afternoon along with six other teammates.
In the movements that were seen from the small stands of the training center of the University of Qatar, nothing suggested an injury that would compromise the presence of the figure of the Argentine National Team in the debut on Tuesday at 7 (Argentine time) against Saudi Arabia.
The evolution of “Cutie” Romero It was a great relief within Lionel Scaloni’s coaching staff, since they feel it and see it as a key piece of the defensive gear. For this reason, by responding well to the physical demands, the assistants Pablo Aimar, Fabián Ayala and Walter Samuel also breathed in peace, with World Cup experience in their days as players.
In this way, the footballer who emerged from Belgrano de Córdoba and with a recent past at Atalanta in Italy, will be in a duo with Nicolás Otamendi from the start of the match, repeating the central defense that came out champion of America in Brazil during 2021.
The goal will be guarded by Emiliano Martínez, who after suffering some injuries at the beginning of this year, settled again at Aston Villa and is one of its figures.
The doubt remains on the right and left sides, with an advantage for Nahuel Molina and Marcos Acuña, respectively.
The midfield, initially, will be made up of Rodrigo De Paul -the ideal partner for Messi-, Leandro Paredes and Alexis Mac Allister -one step above Alejandro Gómez-, in the place of the injured Giovani Lo Celso.
Finally, the offensive trident, except for some last-minute surprises, will be made up of Ángel Di María -he scored two goals against the United Arab Emirates-, Lautaro Martínez -he left his annoyance behind- and Messi.
In turn, in the course of the game a different tactical version could be seen with a 4-2-2-2 from the entry of Julián Álvarez by Mac Allister and the delay in the field of Messi and Di María.
Those who used orange bibs were Emiliano Martínez; Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Nicolás Otamendi and Marcos Acuña; Rodrigo De Paul, Leandro Paredes and Alexis Mac Allister; Angel Di Maria, Lautaro Martinez and Alejandro Gomez.
However, with Scaloni’s background throughout the entire process, what is shown in the training session this Argentine midday may vary.
In fact, in the last practices he placed Gonzalo Montiel on the right side and demanded Nicolás Tagliafico on the left – there it will depend on Acuña’s groin pain.
The National Team will continue training on Saturday from 12, in Argentina, behind closed doors, and will return on Monday, at 9 and with a brief attention to the press, with a subsequent conference by Scaloni and a footballer to be confirmed -it could be Messi-.
Argentina will debut on Tuesday, at 7:00 p.m. (Argentine time), against Saudi Arabia, at the Lusail Stadium, in an area that it will share with Mexico and Poland.
Source: Ambito
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
