Messi still hasn't practiced with the ball

During the training session on the evening of November 19, Doha time, Messi just warmed up without the ball with a fitness expert in a corner of the field. And the whole Argentina team trained separately on that same field, preparing for the match against Saudi Arabia on the afternoon of November 22.

Messi still hasn't trained with his teammates a day in Qatar. He played the full 90 minutes of a friendly match against the UAE 5-0 in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday night, November 16. At dawn the next morning, the Argentina team flew from Abu Dhabi to Doha and stayed on the campus of Qatar University, while training there. During the team's first training session on Friday, November 18, Messi only appeared for the last 10 minutes before the team switched to closed training. During that time, the reporter only witnessed the 35-year-old superstar practice privately.

It is normal for Messi to still have to practice separately, according to journalist Gaston Edul from TyC Sports. He cited a source from within the team, saying that the Argentine captain played the whole game before, so there was no need to rush to practice with his teammates. The PSG star is not injured and is expected to play against Saudi Arabia.

Messi has missed three games at PSG this season with a calf injury, and only made a full recovery three weeks ago. England continues to be Argentina's biggest hope, to help the team win the first title since 1986. They are also the first country to sell out all three group matches in Qatar.

Also on November 19, midfielder Thiago Almada and striker Angel Correa had their first training session with Argentina, since replacing Nicolas Gonzalez and Joaquín Correa due to injury. The 2022 World Cup allows the team to replace players on the list of registered players 24 hours before the first match in the group stage.