1-0！ Argentina leads Messi as a substitute with a win in the World Qualifiers and slowly get used to the days without him
On the morning of October 13, Beijing time, the South American qualifiers of the World Preliminary Round staged a focus match, and the world champion Argentina defeated Paraguay 1-0, winning all 3 games, scoring 5 goals and 1 goal without conceding and leading the standings alone. Otamendi scored the only goal of the game in a first-half volley. Superstar Messi came off the bench for 37 minutes, and although he did not score, his performance was still remarkable. This game also makes people sigh, and we have to finally get used to life without Messi.
Messi has previously suffered injuries in the MLS and has missed many games, and although he has returned from injury, coach Scaloni still does not dare to be careless. In this match against Paraguay, Argentina fielded a two-striker pair of Lautaro Martinez and Julián Álvarez on the front line, which is rare in the past. In the opening three minutes, De Paul took a corner kick from the left and Otamendi scored a dashing volley unguarded to give Argentina a dream start.
In the following time, Argentina took the initiative on the field, and Lautaro and Alvarez also completed the connection several times, but unfortunately the final shot was saved by the goalkeeper. In the 42nd minute, De Paul's angry shot in front of the penalty area was hit hard and popped up into the post, and Argentina missed a good opportunity to extend the scoreline. It was also Argentina's best scoring opportunity in the first half, apart from Otamendi's goal.
In the 52nd minute of the second half, Messi came on to replace Alvarez. In the 76th minute, Messi's corner kick hit the post directly. In the second minute of stoppage time, his free-kick was again denied by the post. However, in the end, Argentina still beat their opponents 1-0 and won three consecutive victories. After the game, Argentina coach Scaloni spoke highly of Messi's performance, but admitted that the team must use Messi carefully. In addition, he also praised the partnership between Alvarez and Lautaro, believing that the two complement each other.
Scaloni did not brag, Argentina had 75% possession in this game, scoring one goal on 4 of 15 shots on target, in addition to 3 shots that were rejected by the post. Messi came off the bench for 37 minutes, but contributed a game-high of three shots, four breakaways and two successful breakaways, in addition to two mid-post matches. To put it bluntly, during the time Messi was on the field, Argentina played more easily and attacked more threateningly. However, even in his absence for 52 minutes, the Pampas Eagles were firmly in control of the situation, and they even scored one goal.
Messi is the soul of Argentina, and with him, the Pampas Eagles have the backbone. However, Messi is already a 36-year-old veteran after all, and although he is still in excellent form, it is obviously unrealistic to expect him to save the team from fire and water as he did in his prime. And now the performance of the Argentine team in the absence of Messi is expected to make their fans very happy.