With Lionel Messi confirmed by coach Lionel Scaloni, the Argentine National Team arrived at the hotel in Bolivia to spend the next two nights at more than 3,680 meters of altitude in preparation for the match against the locals for the second date of the Qualifiers for a place to the World Cup Mexico, the United States and Canada 2026.
“Messi is going to travel. Today he trained differently but he is fit to travel. There are still two days left before the game and we will make the decision tomorrow or on Tuesday as to whether he will play.”said Scaloni when asked about the situation of the Argentine star during the press conference he held this afternoon.
The Argentine team trained for the last time on national soil this afternoon, with some light movements, to be able to travel to Bolivia around 6:00 p.m.
At approximately 10 p.m., the players arrived at the La Paz airport and will arrive at the Camino Real hotel to have dinner, according to the schedule of the Argentine Football Association (AFA) and this Monday they will have their first training session.
“Messi is in condition to play just like (Cristian) Romero, then we will see if he can start, enter or even not do so. They trained differently as a precaution”assured the world champion coach in response to the press’ doubts about the captain.
Furthermore, the technician pointed out: “The squad is good in principle, there is no problem and we are ready to face the game in the best conditions”.
Beyond some annoyances from a minimal group of footballers like Messi, Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martínez, Scaloni He assured that it would be the same, or similar, team that beat Ecuador but that it will plan its elections after practice this Monday.
Argentina, local in La Paz
A group of approximately 500 people eagerly awaited the arrival of the Argentine team near the Camino Real hotel, guarded by a strong police fence.
In addition, the Bolivian government placed murals and parades welcoming the national team, something that bothered several residents of the city.
In the morning, training
The Argentine soccer team carried out its training on the field in the absence of captain Lionel Messi, who worked differently, although he later traveled, along with the team, to Bolivia where they were received by a crowd at the entrance of the hotel in La Paz.
The captain was not with the group in the movements developed on one of the fields of the Ezeiza property, which were recorded by the media cameras with authorization from the AFA.
And later the coach Lionel Scaloni communicated the decision on Messi’s availability at a press conference. The Argentine delegation arrived around 10 p.m. in La Paz, the venue for the meeting led by the Argentine Gustavo Costas.
Messi He asked for the change at the end of the match with Ecuador (1-0) due to physical exhaustion but does not suffer from any injury, as confirmed in the imaging studies performed on Saturday in a Buenos Aires clinic.
The 36-year-old captain is fit to be part of the team at the Hernando Siles stadium, but in any case it is not ruled out that he could be kept on the substitute bench to avoid the physical demands of playing at the height of the Andean city. .
Since his debut at Inter Miami, on July 21, the 10th of the “Albiceleste” accumulated a dozen games, without having had a preseason after leaving Paris Saint-Germain.
Messi He worked with light loads in the two training sessions after the match with the Ecuadorians.
The world champion team will face Bolivia this Tuesday from 5:00 p.m. at the Hernando Siles, located about 3,650 meters above sea level, for the second date of the Qualifiers for the United States-Canada-Mexico 2026 World Cup.
Source: Ambito
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