Despite playing 120 minutes in a pulsating game against Cape Verde in the round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni isn’t bothered by concerns over the fitness of superstar Lionel Messi.
He shared this in a pre-game presser ahead of Argentina’s round of 16 clash against Egypt on Tuesday, July 7 and indicated that 39 year old Messi is ready to compete in the game.
Messi scored in Argentina’s hard fought 3-2 win over the World Cup debutants and was involved in the game through the extra time period but Scaloni wasn’t bothered by Messi’s heavy minutes by stating that,
“I think this World Cup is proving to be difficult for everyone. There isn’t one truly dominant team. France seemed strong, and they still are, but they struggled against Paraguay”
“Leo (Lionel Messi) is fine. He didn’t report any issues, despite playing 120 minutes the other day at the age of 39.”
A win over Egypt sets up a quarterfinal clash against the winner of the Colombia-Switzerland clash.
