A flooded soccer pitch caused a 30-minute delay to the start of Thursday’s World Cup qualifying match between Lionel Messi’s Argentina and Venezuela, but the match is underway.
Argentina’s Nicolás Otamendi scored in the 13th minute to give the reigning World Cup champions an early 1-0 lead at Monumental Stadium in Maturín, Venezuela.
However, the pitch is severely saturated as large amounts of rain water visibly rises from the surface every time a player has made a play on the ball.
Representatives from both clubs convened to discuss the playing surface, where stadium workers attempted to roll out the water from the saturated field before the match. The match was scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. ET.
Messi is in the starting lineup and will captain Argentina against Venezuela. It will be his first match with the national team since injuring his right ankle in the Copa America final against Columbia on July 14. He missed Argentina’s 3-0 win over Chile on Sept. 6, and a 2-1 loss to Colombia on Sept. 10 in a rematch of the Copa America final. The loss to Colombia was just the fourth loss by Argentina in its last 65 matches.
Could Messi and Argentina’s national football team’s late arrival in Venezuela Wednesday night impact their performance? Because of travel restrictions and Hurricane Milton ripping through Florida, the team left Miami yesterday afternoon and had a layover in Colombia before arriving in Venezuela,
Follow along here for live updates from today’s Venezuela vs. Argentina match:
Lionel Messi’s free kick was blocked by Venezuelan goalie Rafael Romo, and Nicolás Otamendi tapped in the rebound to give Argentina an early 1-0 lead in the 13th minute.
The game is available for live stream on Fanatiz with a subscription.
It was supposed to begin at 5 p.m. ET, but is “delayed due to bad weather.” While the weather is ideal, the playing field is not, saturated with rain and causing the match to be delayed.
Yes, Messi is expected to be in action today against Venezuela. He was listed as a starter.
Messi made his injury return with Inter Miami on Sept. 14. He has played in five games, scoring four goals and helping Inter Miami secure the MLS Supporters’ Shield. The regular-season title marked No. 46 for club and country in Messi’s legendary career.
“Messi is fine. He played several games for his team in recent weeks, after not being in the last call-up, which was what we had agreed because he needed to recover and get more minutes,” Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni said this week. “Leo is training with the squad and is ready to be part of the team to play against Venezuela, who will be a great rival.”
Is Argentina in danger of losing their second consecutive match? The oddsmakers don’t believe so. Argentina is the favorite (-175) to win vs. Venezuela (+525), while a draw after regulation has +270 odds, according to BETMGM.
Before the 2-1 loss to Columbia, Argentina last lost to Uruguay in World Cup qualifying last November 2023, Saudi Arabia in the 2022 World Cup opener and Brazil in the Copa America 2019 semifinal.
The World Cup champions were unable to fly from Argentina or the United States directly to Venezuela due to travel restrictions by the Venezuelan government. They departed Miami with a layover in Barranquilla, Colombia before arriving in Maturín, Venezuela on Wednesday night.
Argentina trained this week in Fort Lauderdale at the facility of Inter Miami, Messi’s Major League Soccer club. Those plans were made before the threat of Milton, a Category 3 storm that made landfall in Florida late Wednesday.
Messi and Argentina will return home for a second match Tuesday against Bolivia at 8 p.m. ET.
Then, Messi will return to South Florida for Inter Miami’s regular-season finale on Oct. 19. The MLS Cup Playoffs begin Oct. 25.
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