Argentina have kicked off their journey towards the next World Cup as the defending champions with the best result. It wasn’t an easy matchup against Ecuador, but Lionel Messi scored a magnificent free-kick goal to give his team a 1-0 victory.
Messi has been playing at a high level in his debut with Inter Miami, commanding the MLS club to its first championship ever when they obtained the Leagues Cup. Despite his great performances there, it was evident that he played too many matches in a short period of time.
As someone who always plays the full 90 minutes, it was a bit shocking to see him leave the field with the scoreboard still open. After the hard-fought matchup ended, Messi detailed Lionel Scaloni’s decision to take him off.
Lionel Messi on being replaced by Scaloni
Ecuador presented a rough match for Argentina on their own ground. So much so that it took them 78 minutes to break the tie, which only happened with a genius free-kick scored by Messi as he usually does.
His goal wasn’t the unexpected thing this time, but the decision of coach Scaloni of taking him off the field. It had already gone by89 minutes when Exequiel Palacios entered the match, replacing Messi.
“I was already a bit tired. It happened like that. It won’t be the last time I get substituted off during a game, but I felt very good. It was a very difficult match to play,” Messi explained after the game. Scaloni also stated: “He requested to be substituted, otherwise I wouldn’t have taken him off.”
When is Argentina’s next match?
Argentina is going to play against Bolivia on Tuesday, September 12 at 4:00 PM (ET).
