The Argentina national team have already qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup during the March international break.
Argentina rank on top of the CONMEBOL's qualifying table with 34 points from 15 matches, making the upcoming qualifier matches much easier for the squad.
In their last World Cup Qualifiers match which was against Chile on June 5 and ended in a 1-0 win, Argentine captain Lionel Messi came off the bench in the 57th minute.
This marked to be the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner's first appearance for his nation since their 1-0 win over Peru in November last year as he was unable to feature in March due to injury.
Now, Argentina are set to face Colombia in their next World Cup Qualifiers match on Tuesday, May 10. Speaking ahead of the clash, head coach Lionel Scaloni claimed that Messi is no longer a 'necessity' for the squad to perform the 'same way.'
What did Lionel Scaloni say about Leo Messi?
Scaloni stated (comments via GOAL) that following certain player changes, the Argentine squad's performance is not solely dependent on Messi's presence anymore.
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"The team is now in a moment where it can play in the same way with Leo or without Leo, which used to be more complex in the past as we had to change some players. But now we don't have this necessity and the team works in the same way, that's good," said Scaloni.
Messi has earned 192 caps for Argentina while registering 112 goals and contributing to his nation's 2022 FIFA World Cup victory and two Copa America titles.
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