Messi asked to be replaced because he was tired
* Bolivia - Argentina: 3:00 a.m. Wednesday, September 13, Hanoi time.
"Messi was tired and asked to be replaced in the previous match," Scaloni said on September 11 at the press conference before the match against Bolivia. "But we don't need to talk to Messi before the games. We will see how it goes."
On September 8, Messi started and scored a superb free kick in the 78th minute to help Argentina advance, then gave way to Exequiel Palacios with two minutes left in the official match time. The fact that the 36-year-old star was withdrawn when Argentina was only leading by one goal raised concerns that he was injured. Messi has been playing continuously since joining Inter Miami on a free basis in July, appearing in 11 matches for the American club in less than six weeks.
Scaloni confirmed that Messi will still go to La Paz with the whole team to prepare for the match against Bolivia, but left open the possibility of the striker starting. "This is positive information, because if he travels with the whole team, Messi can play," the 45-year-old coach said. "If Messi was not okay, I would have told him to go home and rest at the club. Messi always wants to play and we will decide before kickoff."
Scaloni wants to keep the same squad that won against Ecuador in Buenos Aires a few days ago, but changes may need to be made because Argentina must play at an altitude of more than 3,000 meters above sea level. Accordingly, Angel Di Maria and Julian Alvarez - the duo who came on as substitutes in the second half of the match against Ecuador - can start against Bolivia. Scaloni also confirmed that Lisandro Martinez and Cristian Romero have recovered from injury, but may not play.
Bolivia lost 1-5 at Brazil in the opening match of the 2026 World Cup qualifying round in South America. But Scaloni still evaluates Bolivia as a strong opponent, playing interesting matches, will definitely show another performance at home and asked his students to stay focused.
According to Mundo Albiceleste, Argentina's problem is that there are currently 15 players who have never played at an altitude of 3,600 meters above sea level. This includes goalkeepers Emiliano Martinez, Juan Musso, Walter Benitez, defenders Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Marcos Senesi, German Pezzella, Lisandro Martinez, Juan Foyth, midfielders Enzo Fernandez, Facundo Buonanotte, Alexis Mac Allister and strikers Julian Alvarez, Nicolas Gonzalez, Alejandro Garnacho.
In early 2017, FIFA passed a decision to increase the capacity to participate in the 2026 World Cup taking place in the US, Mexico and Canada from 32 to 48 teams. This decision helps all FIFA member federations benefit from additional participation in the World Cup. Specifically, Europe still has the most spots, increasing from 13 to 16 teams. Africa increased four slots to nine, the two regions North, Central America and the Caribbean and South America both had six slots. Oceania will have one official spot instead of the current play-off, while Asia will have four more to make eight official spots.
