Lionel Messi was dropped from Argentina's team facing Bolivia in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying on Tuesday following concerns that the 36-year-old forward was dealing with fatigue. Messi played 89 minutes and scored in Argentina's 1-0 win over Ecuador on Friday, but manager Lionel Scaloni hinted that another full game might not be in the cards for the star. Messi reportedly complained of tiredness after the match, per the Associated Press. Though he traveled to La Paz with his teammates, he skipped training on Monday and was eventually omitted from the team.
Angel Di Maria started in Messi's place against Bolivia, while Julian Alvarez also entered the lineup while Lautaro Martinez was on the bench.
A rest day is a long time coming for Messi, who has logged a lot of minutes over the last year. From Aug. 2022 to June 2023, he was a regular fixture for his ex-club Paris Saint-Germain and played 41 games during that time span. Messi also played all seven games during Argentina's World Cup-winning run that fall. He had less than two months in between his last game for PSG on June 4 and his first Inter Miami match on July 21 and has been virtually undroppable for his new team. Messi has started nine of the 11 games he's played so far for Miami.
What this means for Argentina
Argentina are the oddsmakers' favorites against most of their regional opponents even without Messi thanks to the other players on the roster. Alvarez is a rising talent, while a rotating cast of characters including Di Maria, Martinez and Nicolas Gonzalez can generally be counted on for goals.
Scaloni, no doubt, will hope Messi's minutes are managed in Miami so he does not show up to national team duty too weary to compete. Argentina likely will not be rooting for this scenario, but the upcoming schedule still favors them without Messi -- the world champions will face Paraguay and Peru in another set of qualifiers in October.
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What this means for Inter Miami
Miami were likely rooting for Messi to be fresh enough to face Atlanta United away from home on Saturday, and the player's day off can be read both ways. It might mean that he could be ready to go after recovering from a long travel day, but there could be worries that he may need a bit more time off to recover. Atlanta also play on turf rather than natural grass, which could complicate matters as it pertains to Messi's fitness on game day.
The South Florida team won their first game without Messi last week, a 3-2 win to Sporting Kansas City, but it's a small sample size for how Miami look without the superstar. A matchup against the 12th-place team in the Western Conference might not even be comparable to the upcoming fixture against Atlanta, who are sixth in the east.
If Messi is that important to Miami, any time without him could be costly as they make a run for the playoffs. The squad is currently six points out of a playoff spot with eight games to go, which is doable but far from certain.
Miami might also want to manage Messi's minutes ahead of the U.S. Open Cup final on Sept. 27 against the Houston Dynamo, a massive gave you can watch on CBS Sports Network and Paramount+. Including the Atlanta game, Miami have three games before that high-stakes matchup and may be careful about where and when to play him with silverware on the line later this month.
