Argentina managed a 2-2 draw against Venezuela in the Conmebol World Cup qualifier as Lionel Messi missed the game due to a groin injury. Messi scored the winner in a 1-0 victory over Uruguay last week but suffered a groin injury after making a return to international football.
He had announced retirement from international football in July after Argentina lost to Chile in the Copa America Centenario final.
Lionel Messi has landed in controversy again for missing the game against Venezuela. Renowned journalist Martin Liberman criticised Messi, as the Barcelona man posted a photo on social media with a caption that indicated that his injury was not that serious.
The journalist said, “Messi’s injury is so bad that he couldn’t help his teammates against Venezuela? It was that bad? Because when he arrived in Barcelona he had his groin attended to and he posted a photo saying “Everything’s fine, don’t worry. ' If that’s the case, why not play against Venezuela?”
Liberman had earlier criticised Messi's return to international football. He asked whether it was a strategy to avoid criticism after losing three finals in the recent past. “It would be a disgrace to not play against Venezuela and then to play against Alaves." he continued.
After this incident, the debate over Messi's supposed lack of commitment to his national team will heat up in the coming days.
Messi had clarified on his retirement controversy last week and said that he did not want to fool anyone when he made his decision after the loss against Chile in the final.
The Argentinian said, "I am very grateful to return to the national team. But I did not deceive anybody when I retired, I felt that. We were very disappointed with what had happened, but after that I thought better. I had a conversation with the manager, Bauza and the people as well accompanied me through it."
After eight games in the qualifying group, Uruguay occupies the top spot with Brazil close in second. A draw against Venezuela proved costly as Argentina slipped from the top spot to third place. Colombia is in fourth place while Ecuador is in the fifth spot.
The top 4 in the group will automatically qualify to the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The fifth-placed team will have to play a two-legged playoff against a team from Oceania.
