November 19: Superstar Argentinian forward Lionel Messi and six other players have been noticeably absent from Argentina’s field training camp at Qatar University on Friday, Al Jazeera reported.
Head coach Lionel Scaloni reportedly appears careful not to take any chances with additional losses two days after Argentinian footballers Joaquin Correa and Nicolas Gonzalez were sent home due to injuries. Therefore, Scaloni is cocooning star players as a precautionary measure day ahead of the World Cup opening, Al Jazeera further reported.
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According to the Argentine Football Association (AFA), team captain Messi and four other Argentinian national team starters, including midfielders Rodrigo De Paul and Leandro Paredes, defender Nicolas Otamendi and forward Angel di Maria trained separately from the rest of the team and stayed in the gym on Friday.
Two other Argentinian defenders, Lisandro Martinez and Juan Foyth, also skipped Friday’s training camp, the Gulf media network reported citing AFA. The team did not stipulate the exact reasons behind the move, however, such injury-prevention techniques are common practice, Al Jazeera said.
Two-time World Cup champion Argentina is riding high heading into the 2022 World Cup on the heels of a 35-match win streak. According to the World Cup schedule, Argentina is slated face Saudi Arabia on November 22 in the opening match. They also face Mexico on November 26 and Poland on November 30 in the group stage matches.
