Current:Home > StocksLionel Messi, Argentina national team leave Miami ahead of Hurricane Milton-DB Wealth Institute B2 Reviews & Ratings
Lionel Messi, Argentina national team leave Miami ahead of Hurricane Milton
lotradecoin servicequality View Date:2024-12-26 03:50:51
Lionel Messi and the Argentine National Football Team departed from South Florida on Wednesday afternoon, a day before a match in Venezuela and ahead of Hurricane Milton’s expected landfall in the state.
Argentina trained in Fort Lauderdale at the facility of Messi’s Major League Soccer club, Inter Miami, this week ahead of two qualifying games for the 2026 World Cup. Those plans were made due to travel restrictions by the Venezuelan government, and before the threat of Milton — a Category 4 storm expected to make landfall late Wednesday or early Thursday.
The team is unable to fly from Argentina and the United States directly to Venezuela. So, the reigning World Cup champions departed Miami and have a layover in Barranquilla, Colombia before arriving in Maturín, Venezuela.
Messi and Argentina will face Venezuela on Thursday at the Monumental Stadium of Maturin at 5 p.m. ET. The second match is Tuesday in Argentina against Bolivia at 8 p.m. ET.
Argentina previously trained at Inter Miami’s facility earlier this year before their Copa America run, and before their World Cup title run in September of 2022. Coach Lionel Scaloni expressed concern about Milton’s effect on travel plans, wanting to leave two days before the match instead of one.
“It will be difficult for us. We will arrive just one day before the game. We have to make a stop because they are not allowing flights from American soil directly to Venezuela,” Scaloni told reporters at a news conference Tuesday. “These are things that do not depend on us. We have had bad luck with this situation. But the most important thing is the safety and health for the players and the rest of us.”
Messi is expected to be in the starting lineup 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 qualifiers against Chile and Colombia last month, while making his return to the pitch for Inter Miami on Sept. 14.
Messi has played in five games since his injury return, scoring four goals and helping Inter Miami secure the MLS Supporters’ Shield. The regular-season award marked Messi's 46th title for club and country in his 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,” Scaloni said. “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.”
Argentina beat Chile 3-0 Sept. 6, but lost 2-1 to Colombia on Sept. 10 in a rematch of the Copa America final. It was just the fourth loss by Argentina in its last 65 matches, the others coming against Brazil in the Copa America 2019 semifinal, Saudi Arabia in the 2022 World Cup opener and Uruguay in World Cup qualifying last November.
Argentina is in first place with 18 points in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying standings among South American teams.
Messi will return to South Florida for Inter Miami’s regular-season finale on Oct. 19. The MLS Cup Playoffs begin Oct. 25.
veryGood! (3)
Related
- Austin Dillon loses automatic playoff berth for actions in crash-filled NASCAR win
- At $1.2 billion, Powerball jackpot is now third-biggest ever: When is the next drawing?
- Lawsuit: False arrest due to misuse of facial recognition technology
- Longtime state Rep. Jerry Torr won’t seek reelection, will retire after 28 years in Indiana House
- Kaley Cuoco and Tom Pelphrey announce engagement with new photos
- Florida boy, 11, charged with attempted murder in shooting of 2 children after Pop Warner football practice
- Historic low: Less than 20,000 Tampa Bay Rays fans showed up to the team's first playoff game
- US automakers’ sales rose sharply over the summer, despite high prices and interest rates
- Clint Eastwood's Son Scott Shares How Family Is Doing After Death of Christina Sandera
- Cases affected by California county’s illegal use of jail informants jumps to 57, new analysis finds
Ranking
- Ranking MLB jersey advertisements: Whose patch is least offensive?
- Baltimore Police say multiple people have been shot on campus of Morgan State University
- Cats among mammals that can emit fluorescence, new study finds
- NYC student sentenced to 1 year in Dubai prison over airport altercation, group says
- Lady Gaga’s Brunette Hair Transformation Will Have You Applauding
- Tracking the challenges facing Ukrainian grain, all the way from farm to table
- US adds another option for fall COVID vaccination with updated Novavax shots
- FDA authorizes Novavax's updated COVID vaccine for fall 2023
Recommendation
-
Biden to designate 1908 Springfield race riot site as national monument
-
Hungary’s foreign minister hints that Budapest will continue blocking EU military aid to Ukraine
-
This Quince Carry-On Luggage Is the Ultimate Travel Necessity We Can't Imagine Life Without
-
Officers in suburban Atlanta killed a man who tried to steal a police cruiser, investigators say
-
Traveling? Here Are the Best Life-Saving Travel Accessories You Need To Pack, Starting at Just $7
-
Iowa starting quarterback Cade McNamara out for rest of 2023 season with ACL injury
-
Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos top Forbes' 400 richest people in America in 2023
-
Police identify suspect in Wichita woman's murder 34 years after her death