Selection: when was the last time Messi started as a substitute? :: Olé

Lionel Messi always wants to play with the Argentine National Team. And the Albiceleste fans, in turn, want to see him on the pitch every time they can. However, in the friendly against Ecuador in Chicago, the captain and emblem of the world champion I would be a substitutewith the aim of arriving in the best physical condition to the Copa América.

The National Team is preparing for the Copa América 2024, which will begin on June 20 against Canada. In the press conference prior to the match against La Tri, Lionel Scaloni did not want to give details about whether Leo would start from the start. “People are going to be able to see Messi tomorrow. He’s probably going to play for a while. We’re going to think carefully about the minutes that each one of us is going to have to do well in his debut.”declared the DT.

As the hours passed, the mystery was left behind. The intention of the coaching staff would be for the Rosario star, who seeks to arrive in optimal conditions for the continental competition, to enter from the substitute bench and add minutes in the second half against Ecuador. This It would mark the twenty-fourth time that Messi would start a game from the bench for the National Team, and the fourth time in the last four years.

The last time Messi started on the bench was on October 12, 2023 in a Qualifying match for the 2026 World Cup against Paraguay. On that occasion, Messi entered in the second half, due to discomfort in his right hamstring that he had suffered since the match against Bolivia in September. Despite having trained normally at the Ezeiza facility, the coaching staff decided not to risk it from the beginning. Days later, Leo broke it in Lima for a 2-0 victory against Peru.

Historically, of the 23 previous times in which Messi was a substitute, only six times did he not enter the field of play: 2-1 vs. Ivory Coast (2006 World Cup), 1-1 vs. Germany (2006 World Cup), 0-0 vs. Costa Rica (friendly in 2011), 2-0 vs. El Salvador (friendly in 2015), 2-1 vs. Ecuador (friendly in 2015) and 2-1 vs. Chile (Copa América 2016).