Argentina has adapted to playing without Lionel Messi and no longer needs to change their lineup when the Inter Miami forward is unavailable, said manager Lionel Scaloni before Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier against Colombia.
Since his senior debut in 2005, Messi has netted 112 goals in 192 matches for Argentina, capturing the World Cup in 2022, two Copa América titles, and a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The 37-year-old captain missed Argentina’s 1-0 victory over Uruguay and their impressive 4-1 win against Brazil in March because of an injury. During that international break, Scaloni’s team secured their spot in the 2026 World Cup.
He returned to the squad for this month’s qualifiers and came off the bench in Argentina’s recent 1-0 win over Chile.
“The team is now at a point where it can perform well with or without Leo [Messi], which used to be more challenging because we had to adjust some players,” Scaloni told reporters ahead of the match in Buenos Aires.
“But now we don’t have that need, and the team functions the same way, which is great.”
While Argentina has already qualified for the World Cup in North America, Colombia holds the sixth and final automatic qualification spot and aims to create some distance from seventh-place Venezuela with a win.
