Coach Lionel Scaloni has revealed his conversation with Lionel Messi before deciding to remove the superstar from the squad.

In the 13th round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in South America, Argentina will play away at Uruguay.

In this training session, captain Lionel Messi was not on the La Albiceleste training list due to a muscle injury, and this was the reason why coach Lionel Scaloni decided to remove the captain’s name.

In the pre-match press conference, Scaloni revealed that he had discussed Messi’s injury with the Argentine. Specifically, the Argentine strategist shared: “Leo had problems with his adductor muscles before and was not in the best physical condition. I understand the situation, it’s a pity that he cannot play. Despite the absence of an important factor, the whole team will still fight as usual against a difficult opponent.”

Besides Messi, the reigning South American champions also do not have the service of striker Lautaro Martinez, the star player who was also confirmed to have a torn muscle.

Scaloni said: “Every time Leo is absent, I always get asked if Julian and Lautaro will play together. Initially, we planned to have him in the squad, but unfortunately then we received news that he was injured.

Luckily the team hasn’t made any concrete plans yet, because without Leo everything will definitely have to be adjusted. Hopefully he will recover soon, because Leo is always an indispensable factor for the team.

Despite losing many key players, Scaloni is still confident that he will rotate La Albiceleste’s stars and aim for a good result on the field of the Uruguayan national team.

The 46-year-old added: “I have 90% of the squad figured out, the last training session this afternoon will decide the rest. However, I already have an idea. With so many players having yellow cards, we cannot risk saving energy. However, there may be some adjustments in the midfield area, because the good form of the young players allows us to be flexible and give opportunities to those who deserve it.”

Currently, Argentina is leading the 2026 World Cup qualifying rankings in the Americas with 25 points, four points more than Brazil, who just had a hard-fought victory over Colombia.

The match between Uruguay and Brazil took place at 6:30 a.m. on March 22.