Messi 'happy' to be back, 'upset' at Venezuela stadium

Argentine star Lionel Messi expressed his happiness to return to the national team after recovering from injury, but he did not hide his dissatisfaction with the state of the pitch during the match against Venezuela.

Argentina and Venezuela draw in the qualifiers The match ended in a 1-1 draw in the ninth round of the qualifiers, as Nicolas Otamendi opened the scoring for Argentina in the 13th minute, before Salomon Rondon equalized for Venezuela in the 65th minute.

Position of teams in the qualifiers Despite the draw, Argentina maintained its lead in the standings with 19 points, 3 points ahead of its closest competitor, Colombia. On the other hand, Venezuela raised its score to 11 points in seventh place, after achieving four draws and one loss in the last five matches in the qualifiers.

Messi's statements and preparations for the next match In statements to the official website of the Argentine Football Association, Messi said: “I have waited a long time to return to the field after missing several matches with Inter Miami, and I am happy to return again.”

Messi added: "The pitch did not help us to do what we wanted; we could not exchange passes well because of his condition." He concluded: "I am looking forward to playing again in Argentina next Tuesday. We will rest now and prepare for the next match at home."

Argentina are set to face Bolivia, who are sixth with 12 points, in the 10th round of the qualifiers next Tuesday. The top six teams will qualify directly for the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, while the seventh-placed team will play in a global play-off.