Lionel Scaloni says Lionel Messi will “always play” for Argentina regardless of how many minutes he is playing at club level for Inter Miami.
The Argentina boss says the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner is the excpetion to the rule in that regard, insisting his other playerss must be featuring regularly to warrant selection to his side.
“We need them to play,” Scaloni said of players in his squad. “These six games [in qualification] were very close to each other after the Copa America.
“We opted to continue with the base that gave us the joy of the cup and there was not much time to bring in other players, but from now on we need everyone to play and from there we can decide on the football level of each one. As we have always done except on this occasion.
“In Leo’s case, it’s a quite different case. He always plays, even when he has to rest, but we don’t think beyond that. It’s important that they have continuity.”
— CompsEuropa (@Europcomps) October 16, 2024
Argentina are top of CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying ahead of facing Peru but the defending champions did suffer their third defeat of their campaign against Paraguay last week.
Messi started that game having joined up with his national team-mates shortly after Inter Miami were beaten 3-2 by Atlanta United in the MLS play-offs.
The 37-year-old featured 22 times during an injury-hit for Miami which saw him sidelined for multiple spells. Despite that, the World Cup winner still finished the season with 21 goals and 11 assists to his name.
He also played a pivotal role in La Albiceleste’s Copa America triumph in the summer, featuring in six games and registering a goal and an assist.
“Leo’s year is the year of a player who has played a lot of games, who has been available a lot, who had a Copa América in between,” Scaloni added.
“It’s difficult for him to be 100% and not have had problems, I see that as normal. He suffered an injury, but in general he has always been well with us.”
