“The Argentine team has not yet been able to leave Miami. Messi and his teammates are waiting for the next developments with the impact of Hurricane Milton in Florida. Coach Scaloni just had a press conference in Miami, but no further decisions have been made yet,” said journalist Gaston Edul of TyC Sports.
Coach Scaloni also confirmed: “We were supposed to fly to Venezuela on October 9, but it was not possible. We will try again tomorrow (October 10) if the weather permits. That’s all we know at the moment.”
For many objective reasons, the Argentine team has chosen Miami and the training ground of Inter Miami, where the famous player Messi is playing, as the place to train and prepare for the match against the Venezuela team (away) in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in South America. This match will take place at 4:00 a.m. on October 11 (Vietnam time).
The Argentine team is scheduled to arrive in Venezuela on October 9, about a day before the match, to prepare. However, this plan is being affected by Hurricane Milton, which is forecast to hit Florida (USA) on October 9, in which cities such as Miami are greatly affected.
Also according to coach Scaloni: “Regardless of the weather conditions, the Argentina team had a very complete training day in Miami. Messi’s return created a lot of motivation for the whole team. He is very good, ready to play. Messi played a few previous matches with the club, showing that he is ready to play with us.”
“The rest of the squad, we are just taking precautions in case Mac Allister is training separately. Currently, the absence of many players from Europe is acceptable, because they are going through the first but very stressful stage of the season.
We have to take advantage and call up players from the domestic league. Venezuela are a very good opponent, both physically and football-wise. They are an opponent worthy of consideration and respect and we will approach the match in a worthy manner.
We are not used to losing, but we have to understand that it can happen. We lost the previous match (against Colombia 1-2), we accepted the defeat and we are fine. The whole team is fine,” added coach Scaloni.
According to journalist Gaston Edul: “The absence of goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez will be an opportunity for goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli to start. In the defense of the Argentine team, the central defender pair will be Otamendi (replacing the suspended Cristian Romero) and Lisandro Martinez.
Midfielders in good form like Paredes and Lo Celso will also have the opportunity to start. In attack, coach Scaloni plans to start Messi, but besides 1 or 2 strikers Lautaro Martinez and Julian Alvarez, it will depend on whether Mac Allister can return in time or not.
