Lionel Messi watched on from the stands at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami as Argentina narrowly defeated fellow South American side Venezuela 1-0 in a friendly.
The 38-year-old had been a doubt before kick-off with Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni insisting he was “not going to take any risks whatsoever”.
And, sure enough, the Argentine captain played no part in the contest, which was decided by a goal from former Tottenham midfielder Giovani Lo Celso shortly after the half-hour mark.
Despite the scoreline, the reigning world champions, who have already secured a spot at the 2026 World Cup finals, were largely dominant throughout.
Scaloni backed his decision to rest Messi, saying he hoped the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner would feature next week in a friendly against Puerto Rico in Fort Lauderdale.
“The decision that Leo [Messi] won’t play was my decision,” Scaloni said.
“We wanted to test Lautaro [Martinez] and Julian [Alvarez], but we had Flaco (Lopez) on the bench, but he couldn’t come on and will play in the next match. Let’s hope Leo can play in the next one.”
The Argentina head coach also highlighted the benefits of playing a “difficult” team like Venezuela, adding it was a good run-out for his team as they look to defend their crown next summer.
Scaloni said: “The test will help us a lot. All opponents are difficult, even more so knowing that they play us at 100%.
“There are no easy opponents. We won, but that’s not the important thing, we wanted to see how the team was doing and gain some minutes.
“It’s essential to start from a solid defence because we have players up front to do damage.”
