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After producing a match-winning performance against Chile, Argentina star Angel Di Maria has claimed it was important they won despite of the absence of their talisman Lionel Messi.
Argentina took on Chile in an action-packed 2022 World Cup Qualifying fixture at the Estadio Zorros del Desierto in Calama. Having already confirmed their place for the showpiece at Qatar, Argentina played without pressure. Chile, on the other hand, needed a win to keep their qualification hopes alive.
Even without Lionel Messi, who was rested due to COVID-19 related complications, the 2021 Copa America winners dominated proceedings. PSG winger Di Maria scored a blinder from the edge of the box to open the scoring for his side in the ninth minute. Chile restored parity through a sumptuous Ben Brereton Diaz strike 11 minutes later but were ultimately left hard done by Lautaro Martinez’s 34th-minute winner.
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When asked to comment on his team’s performance after the match, Di Maria stated it was important to win without their captain. He claimed that La Albiceleste needed to pull their socks up in the genius’ absence, which made the win all the more rewarding.
As per Prensa Libre, the right-winger said:
“It is important to win without Messi. When he is there, everything is much easier. Not being there, we have to divide the strength, the quality, everything.”
Argentina, who are second in the CONMEBOL rankings, will take on fifth-placed Colombia in their next World Cup Qualifier on 1st February.
Messi still recovering from COVID-related complications, says Argentina coach
Despite testing negative for COVID earlier this month, the Argentine skipper has been left out of his national team squad. Coach Lionel Scaloni has now revealed why that is. The Albiceleste boss has stated that the PSG winger was heavily affected by COVID-19 and is yet to fully recover from it.
He said:
“It’s clear that we’d love for Messi to be here. I chatted with him and he told me that covid-19 affected him a lot.”
Considering Scaloni's men have already qualified for the World Cup, the coach did not want to risk his star player. The 34-year-old, who is currently training with PSG, should return to action when club football resumes in the first week of February.
The Parisians will host Nice in the round of 16 of the French Cup on 1st February.
