Messi rested from FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Brazil and Uruguay due to fatigue

Lionel Messi has been rested by Argentina ahead of two FIFA World Cup qualifiers, as confirmed on Monday when head coach Lionel Scaloni released the 26-man squad. Along with Messi, Paulo Dybala has also been left out of the national team for the third consecutive time due to an injury. Messi had been left out of his last three games in the league at Inter Miami on the grounds of 'fatigue' and returned to his team in the 2-1 win over Atlanta United on Monday. His head coach at his club team, Javier Mascherano, said that Messi is not injured and is being rested merely as a precaution, but now he is facing discomfort.

Argentina has taken the most points on each matchday so far, and goal difference is the only reason they haven't been top of the table since the start of qualifying. Nevertheless, Lionel Scaloni's Albiceleste went top after the third round of fixtures and has remained there ever since. After their triumph at the Copa America, with Lionel Messi out injured, Argentina have suffered two defeats out of three in this qualification campaign (against Colombia and Paraguay) and dropped points when they drew with Venezuela, all away from home.

However, that hasn't done much to stop their onslaught, as they are still five points ahead of second-placed Uruguay, and the chasing team continues to falter - there's only a three-point gap between second and sixth in the table. Given that seventh-placed Bolivia can only manage a maximum of 31 points, Argentina need to take only seven points from the 18 available to guarantee their automatic qualification for the FIFA World Cup 26. The problem they face is that their next two opponents are Uruguay (March 21) and Brazil (March 25), two other South American giants.