"Why miss a statpad session", "Why did he travel" - Argentina fans react as Lionel Messi left out of squad to face Bolivia in WC qualifier

Fans have reacted to manager Lionel Scaloni leaving Lionel Messi out of Argentina's matchday squad to face Bolivia on Tuesday (12 September) in the CONMEBOL FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Nicolas Gonzalez, Julian Alvarez and Angeli di Maria have been named in the front three but Messi has been left out entirely from the squad. He played 89 minutes against Ecuador on 8 September and scored the only goal of the game.

Messi confirmed after the match that he asked to be taken off because he was tired. He made his debut for Inter Miami in the Leagues Cup on 22 July and has since played 11 more games for club and country.

It seems that Scaloni has given Messi a rest as Argentina prepare to face Bolivia at the Estadio Hernando Siles, nearly 12,000 feet above sea level. One fan questioned why the 36-year-old traveled to La Paz if he wasn't going to play, and tweeted:

Fans would have hoped to see Messi add to his tally of 104 goals in 176 senior appearances for Argentina against his favorite international opponents. He has, after all, scored more goals against them than against any other country (8).

Argentina boss gave verdict on Lionel Messi's substitution against Ecuador

Lionel Messi was taken off against Ecuador just a minute before the 90-minute mark. Fans were worried about the seven-time Ballon d'Or star's fitness, considering this was the first time he was substituted from an international game in over four years.

If Messi was fit enough to travel with La Albiceleste to the dizzying heights of Estadio Hernando Siles, fans can expect to see him back in action soon. Inter Miami's next game is an MLS encounter against Atlanta United on 16 September.

It remains to be seen if manager Gerardo 'Tata' Martino will start the former Barcelona superstar in that game. He is clearly Vice City's most important player and has racked up an impressive tally of 11 goals and five assists for them in 11 games across competitions.

About the author

Aniket is a senior editor for Tennis, Golf, Motorsport, and Olympics at Sportskeeda, having 4 years of previous experience. He is also a European and International football writer at SK, with over 2,600 articles under his belt. He started following football in 2004 after watching the Champions League semi-final between Liverpool and Juventus, and has been a Reds fan ever since.

You cannot convince him that Virgil van Dijk isn't the best defender to grace the beautiful game. Liverpool’s comeback against Borussia Dortmund in the Europa League quarter-finals in 2016 left a lasting impact on Aniket since it inspired him to get through a tough phase at the time.

An expert researcher with an OCD-like eye for perfection, Aniket follows matches closely to add interesting facts and statistics to his articles. He double-checks all information, uses only established publications as sources, and always maintains an unbiased tone in his articles.

When not writing, he enjoys playing FIFA and Forza on his Xbox. He also listens to hip-hop, classical rock, and electronic music, and enjoys watching Rick and Morty, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Family Guy.

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