Messi
Argentina captain Lionel Messi is not thinking about his international future beyond next year's Copa America, where he will try to lead the country to a second successive continental title at the tournament in the United States.
Brazil striker Rodrygo said he had received racist messages on social media accounts following an argument with Argentina captain Lionel Messi before the teams' World Cup qualifier on Tuesday.
Brazil lost their second consecutive World Cup qualifier match as Colombia fought back to win 2-1 against the five-times champions, who dropped to fifth place in the South American standings on Thursday.
Lionel Messi will be fit for Argentina's World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Brazil despite his lack of game time, coach Lionel Scaloni said on Wednesday.
"For him, one more training session is important and I will talk to him to decide whether he plays or not, but I have to talk to him first and above all I have to be sure that he can start," Scaloni told reporters.
Messi was replaced by Robert Taylor in the 37th minute with the score tied at 0-0, taking off the captain's armband and handing it to DeAndre Yedlin.
Captain Messi, however, continued the fine form he is showing with club side Inter Miami by scoring from a free kick after 77 minutes.
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner has been a terror from his first game scoring nine goals in six matches powering Miami into the Leagues Cup final on Saturday where they will face Nashville SC.
Philadelphia, who made the MLS Cup final last year and have a dominant record at home, were poised to be Miami's biggest test since the latter added the Argentinean striker to their roster last month.
Messi scored in his third consecutive match for Inter in a 3-1 victory over Orlando City last week, helping them move into the last 16 of the tournament.
The performance titled 'Messi10', after his favored jersey number, showcases the rise of the striker from his early childhood in Rosario to his iconic moment as world champion.
Kickoff was delayed by 95 minutes because of a thunderstorm, but once the match got under way, Messi took little time to settle down and opened the scoring in the seventh minute.
Messi drew a foul about 25 yards from goal in the dying seconds and stepped up to deliver what everyone came to see as his free kick sailed into the top left corner and sent the crowd into delirium.
"I didn't even know whether Messi was in the group chat yet, but he popped up straightway and said, 'How many do you need though?' Straightaway like that.
"This happens to us even on a personal level; sometimes we associate the United States, Miami, holidays - this isn't that." he added. "We want to compete... they are not footballers who are going to come here to not compete."
"My stay in Paris started with a very difficult adaptation, much more than I expected, even though I had people I knew in the dressing room. It was difficult to adapt, the change, arriving late, not having a pre-season, adapting to the new club, the new way of playing, new teammates, the city...It wasn't easy for me or for my family," he told BeIN Sports.
"Barcelona president (Joan) Laporta understood and respected Messi's decision to want to compete in a league with fewer demands, further away from the spotlight and the pressure he has been subject to in recent years," the LaLiga side said.
"I sincerely believed that I would have the day off after the game as had been happening in previous weeks. I had this trip organised and I couldn't cancel it, I had already cancelled it before," Messi said in a video on Instagram.
Diaz, however, stressed his sights are fixed on the meeting with Urawa at Saitama Stadium in the continental club final rather than the future of Argentina's World Cup-winning captain.
An Egyptian sitcom gathered look-alikes of international footballers who all happen to live in Egypt: Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané, Kylian Mbappé, and Lionel Messi.
Most Read
