Messi absent: Argentina defeats Venezuela in friendly with Lo Celso

Argentina Beats Venezuela in Friendly Without Messi

The Argentinian national team, without the presence of Lionel Messi, achieved a 1-0 victory against Venezuela in a friendly match held on Friday at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Messi watched the match from the stands with his family.

“I decided that Leo (Messi) would not play,” stated Argentina’s coach, Lionel Scaloni.

Lionel Scaloni

The only goal of the match was scored by Giovani Lo Celso, after an assist from Lautaro Martínez. Argentina dominated the match, generating 19 shots, with 11 of them directed at the goal. Scaloni expressed his hope of having Messi for the next friendly against Puerto Rico on October 14. Rodrigo De Paul, Messi’s teammate at Inter Miami, started the match on the bench and came on in the second half in place of Julián Álvarez.

Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano expressed his desire to have Messi for Saturday’s MLS match against Atlanta United, although he stated he had not spoken to the player about his participation.

“I would love to. Imagine being able to have Leo Messi, but the reality is that he hasn’t been with us,” said Mascherano.

Javier Mascherano

Despite being qualified for the 2025 MLS playoffs, Inter Miami seeks to improve its position in the Eastern Conference to secure home-field advantage in the postseason. Argentina confirmed that Franco Mastantuono will miss the rest of the training camp due to a left hamstring injury.