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Argentina players, including Lionel Messi, have been given their own oxygen tubes to deal with the high altitude in Bolivia. The players are set to take on Bolivia at La Paz, which is over 11,900 feet above sea level, in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier on Tuesday (September 12).
Alexis Mac Allister has taken to his Instagram story to post a photo of him breathing through the oxygen tube ahead of the Bolivia clash. He first shared photos of his training with Argentine teammates before adding another story with the tube and captioning it 'and behind the scenes'.
Lionel Messi has spoken about the difficulties of playing in La Paz. He was quoted in 2013 by Daily Mail as saying:
"It is terrible to play here at altitude, so a draw is a good result for us. Every time you make an effort or play at high pace, you need time to recover. Some of the players had a headache, and others felt a bit dizzy, but there was nothing wrong with me."
Lionel Scaloni, the Argentine manager, has hinted that the Inter Miami star could feature in the game on Tuesday:
"Messi is going to travel to Bolivia. Today, he trained differently, but there are still 2 days left until the game, and we will make the decision tomorrow whether he plays or not. The team is going to be similar to the one that played against Ecuador."
Lionel Messi scored the lone goal in the 1-0 win over Ecuador last week to get Argentina off to a winning start in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Lionel Messi's former teammate Neymar has also complained about La Paz
Lionel Messi and Argentina are not the only team to complain about the difficulties of playing at La Paz. Neymar said that it's inhuman to be playing at such an high altitude.
He was quoted by Sky Sports in 2017 as saying:
"Inhuman to play in such conditions, field, altitude, ball .. everything bad. But we were happy for the performance of the team even with these conditions."
The comments were after Brazil drew goalless with Bolivia, and they were echoed by then Brazil manager Tete:
"I have to praise our professionals for all the logistics of the medical department. That gave all the support to make people feel the effects less. The performance surprised.
"Playing here is very difficult. Strategically, I was very happy. We were upright, offensive. I want to emphasise this great performance. I am happy for the performance but upset about the result."
Argentina will look to make it two wins in two in their qualifying campaign.
