Messi Injured, Di Maria retired after winning the Copa America in 2024. Therefore Argentina will not have Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria in the World Cup qualifying match. After 11 years, Argentina will play without two footballers.
They were behind winning the 2021 and 2024 Copa America, the 2022 Finalsima and the 2022 Football World Cup. Argentina’s driving force was Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria. The coaches used to organize the team based on them. But Argentina will not have Messi and Di Maria in next month’s World Cup qualifying matches. After 11 years, they will play without two footballers.
Di Maria retired after winning the Copa America this year. Messi hasn’t retired yet. But he suffered a serious ankle injury in the Copa final. That wound is still not healed. So Lionel Scaloni announced the team by excluding two people.
The last time Messi and Di Maria were not in the team was in the World Cup qualifying match against Uruguay in 2013. At least one of the two has played every match for Argentina since then. 11 years later that picture is changing.
Messi has not entered the field since the Copa final. He didn’t even play for Inter Miami. Leo is now in America. He is slowly recovering. But the situation was not created to take the field. Miami has been knocked out of the Leagues Cup because of Messi not being able to play. Although Argentina may not have that problem. Because, in the last few years, Enzo Fernandes, Julian Alvares, Mac Allister, Lautaro Martinez have shown that they can win without Messi. Scaloni is relying on them. Apart from Messi and Di Maria, Scaloni did not keep Paulo Dybala in the team. He was not even angry.
Argentina will play against Chile in their own country on September 5. Their match is against Colombia on September 10. Argentina will have to go to Colombia to play that match. Argentina tops the Latin American (Conmable) group with 12 points from World Cup qualifying. As a result, Scaloni is very relieved. That’s why the Argentine coach doesn’t want to take risks with Messi.