Lionel Messi confronts ref in shock Argentina World Cup qualifying loss, Lionel Scaloni hails Alejandro Garnacho
Published 15/11/2024 at 13:11 GMT
There appears to be no sign of the competitive fires dimming inside Lionel Messi, as the Argentina captain angrily remonstrated with the officials during his side's surprise World Cup qualifying loss to Paraguay. A picture-book overhead kick from Antonio Sanabria helped the hosts to victory, as second-half substitute Alejandro Garnacho was unable to help trigger a comeback.
De Paul reveals captain Messi's message to Argentina players
Video credit: SNTV
Lionel Messi angrily confronted the referee during Argentina's shock World Cup qualifying defeat to Paraguay on Thursday night.
At the conclusion of the first-half, Messi wagged his finger under the nose of referee Anderson Daronco after seemingly being aggrieved at the physical nature of the game and the lack of action from the officials.
This wasn't the only interaction Messi had with the men in charge, as earlier in the first period the Inter Miami forward had been the subject of three thunderous Paraguayan tackles, making his feelings abundantly clear to Daronco in the aftermath.
Inter's Lautaro Martinez had given Argentina the lead on 11 minutes, but the match got away from them thereafter, with Antonio Sanabria equalising shortly afterwards via a brilliant overhead kick, before Omar Alderete got what turned out to be the winner just after half-time.
The loss means it's a surprise run of three defeats in a row for Messi, after his Inter Miami side succumbed twice to Atlanta United in the MLS play-offs, ending their season.
Argentina remain top of the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying table, three points ahead of Colombia who have played a game less.
Scaloni praise for Garnacho
It's been a long road for Alejandro Garnacho to break into the Argentina side, despite some impressive performances for Manchester United.
Some questioned the impact of the 20-year-old after coming on as a second-half substitute in Asuncion, but Scaloni preferred to stand behind the youngster and the rest of his players, as they prepare to welcome Peru to Buenos Aires in their next World Cup qualifier at the famed La Bombonera on Wednesday.
The Albiceleste boss said: "I'm not here to criticise my players, I'm here to support them. We knew it was going to be a tough game. We're here to keep going and give confidence to many of the new players.
"We played well in the first half, but the first action at the start of the second made things difficult. We have to congratulate our opponents, who defended very well. We are playing and we hope to get back on track.
"The team always tries, it stands up for itself in the matches. The players don't give up on a ball. We will then analyse what we can do better. Peru will be a completely different rival, but it is also difficult. We are going to prepare well and hopefully we can bring joy to the fans.
"We're looking to have depth with the arrival of Garnacho. He's good at playing these kinds of games. [Taty] Castellanos's arrival was good. He has interesting moves and we're happy he's with us. We trust in what we have been doing."
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