Currently in the off-season for football clubs, many players have returned to their respective national teams to prepare for the relevant World Cup qualifier matches. Messi's Argentina will also usher in a World Cup match at about 8:00 a.m. on January 28, and his opponent is the old chilean team. Remember that year, they had met twice in a row in the copa America final, but unfortunately, Argentina, which was in full swing at the time, actually lost to Chile in two consecutive penalty shootouts. It was a very heavy blow for both Argentina and for their captain Messi! After all, both losses were in penalties, which is really hard to accept.
However, there is no Messi in the big list recruited by Argentina this time, on the one hand, because Messi has just recovered from the new crown infection, and if he makes such a long journey again, it is likely to cause additional burdens on the body. On the other hand, the current Argentina team is very strong, has not lost in this South American World Cup qualifier, and is also in second place in the table, has qualified early. So Argentina does not have too much pressure and burden, for Messi, his task is basically completed, kicking or not playing does not have much impact.
Of course, the team's head coach Scaloni has also made targeted adjustments to this. According to foreign media reports, because Dybala has returned this time, coupled with his similar style of play on the field to Messi, it is said that he is likely to replace Messi's position. Not only that, the team's main defender Romero also missed this round of the World Preliminary Round due to injury, and Lisandro Martinez will replace him in the game. In fact, from another aspect, this is not a bad thing for the whole team. The short break of the old players can allow some young players to get more performance opportunities, allow them to gain experience in the game, and Argentina's future is guaranteed. And Argentina is still a little too dependent on Messi, if they want to go further in the big game and win more titles, they must also find a replacement for Messi.
In fact, for Messi, this is also the first time in recent years that he has missed the national team game without injury. To be honest, it is still quite rare, to know that in the past few years, Messi can be said to have not fallen behind every game for Argentina. Argentina have not lost in any competition since losing to Brazil in the 2019 Copa America semi-finals, and this match faces Chile, which has not been in good shape recently. Although it is said to be away from home, Argentina still has a bigger winning side, and there are many excellent attackers in the whole field, such as Di Maria, who is full of spirituality, Inter Milan's top scorer Lautaro, De Paul and so on. On paper alone, Argentina is obviously one level higher than Chile, of course, whether it can win depends on the performance on the field, let's wait and see!