Argentina captain Lionel Messi is fit and will start the World Cup qualifier at home to Brazil on Tuesday, but Neymar will miss out for the visitors after feeling pain in his thigh, the teams announced.
“He was physically fit the other day and in the end, we decided that the best thing was for him to play a few minutes. So that he could get a feel of it and he is confirmed to play tomorrow. It’s going to be a very difficult game. They are the team that leads the qualifiers. And they are already through to the finals,” Scaloni said ahead of Tuesday’s match in San Juan.
“Neymar Jr said he felt insecure about the situation. And as there is not enough time to carry out complementary exams the technical committee decided to rest the player. Who will not travel with the team to San Juan, location of Tuesday’s game against Argentina,” the Brazil team said in a statement?
The top four teams in South American qualifying progress automatically to next year’s World Cup finals and the fifth-placed side goes into an inter-regional playoff. Brazil has already sealed its place in Qatar’s FIFA World Cup next year, winning 11 of the 12 matches so far and no losses. Meanwhile, Argentina is placed second, with eight wins and no losses, while a win here would seal its place too.
Brazil will also be missing the suspended Casemiro, who could be replaced by Fabinho. Meanwhile, Brazil has not won in Argentina since 2009. Argentina is unbeaten in 26 games, a run that includes a 1-0 win over Brazil in the Copa America final in Rio de Janeiro in July.
