Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni has said he may make several changes to his starting lineup for the FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Brazil, but played down fears about captain Lionel Messi’s fitness. Just three days after clashes at the Corinthians Arena in Sao Paulo, Argentina beat Venezuela 3-1 in Caracas on Sunday and Brazil beat Chile 1-0 in Santiago on day seven of the South American qualifiers.
“The idea is to make some changes because of the short interval between matches. We will make a decision based on how the players will be after training,” Scoloni said in a virtual news conference on Saturday.
After being crushed by Adrian Martinez in the first half of Thursday’s match, Scaloni said he was confident Messi would start despite fears for the 34-year-old’s well-being, reports Xinhua news agency.
The defender received a straight red card for the stud-up challenge, which hit Messi just below his left knee and left him unable to stand for nearly five minutes.
“Leo is okay, it was a big scare, but he will train and we will know on the pitch if he is 100%, but I think he will be fine,” Scoloni said.
Sunday evening’s qualifier will be the first meeting between the arch-rivals since the Copa America final in July, which Argentina won 1-0 at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
Brazil are currently six points ahead of second-placed Argentina in the 10-team South American qualifying group with seven wins from as many matches.
The top four teams will advance to next year’s football showpiece tournament in Qatar, while the fifth-ranked team will advance to the Intercontinental Playoffs.
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