Argentina's doubts and concerns

Argentina was involved in a couple of doubts: on Friday it was analyzing whether to travel to Venezuela on Sunday due to the social and political tension that the country is going through, and if they do, they may suffer the absence of their star Lionel Messi, who has a pubic pain.

For now, Argentina and Messi will play the match on Tuesday in Mérida for the seventh round of the South American World Cup qualifiers. But the doubts about the trip and the presence of the Barcelona forward were born within the Argentine national team.

Argentina, with Messi scoring the only goal and being the standout player, defeated Uruguay 1-0 on Thursday in Mendoza to lead the qualifying table with 14 points, 13 more than bottom-placed Venezuela, who on the same day lost 2-0 to Colombia in Barranquilla.

After the match, Messi told TyC Sport that he ended up with pain.

"My pubic area hurts a lot, before the match, now we will talk to the doctor to see how everything is," declared the forward, raising doubt about whether he will travel to Venezuela. "The season is just starting and important things are coming, both in Barcelona and with the national team. We'll see."

Coach Edgardo Bauza emphasized that Messi will be evaluated in the next 48 hours.

"We can't know now. There is inflammation and we can't predict what will happen. We won't risk him at all. I hope he rests to see how he is," highlighted Bauza, who directed his first match with the national team against Uruguay.

Regarding the trip to Venezuela, the Argentine national team is on high alert due to the crisis the country is going through.

"Our concern is about the political situation in Venezuela," said Jorge Miadosqui, secretary of national teams for Argentina, to Radio La Red on Thursday. "The airport in Mérida is closed to private flights. That's why we have to travel to (El) Vigía. It's a very difficult place to reach."

"CONMEBOL must decide if the match will be played considering the social context that the country is experiencing. If they give us all the guarantees on all fronts, we will travel to Venezuela," expressed Miadosqui. "If there are no guarantees, we won't go."

To avoid disciplinary sanctions that could result in the loss of points, if Argentina refuses to travel to Venezuela, that decision would have to be well justified and have the endorsement of CONMEBOL and FIFA.

Argentina's original plan is to travel to Venezuela on Sunday on a private flight. The match is scheduled for Tuesday at 23:00 (local time).