Lionel Messi bids emotional Argentina farewell WITHOUT Alexis Mac Allister | OneFootball

Lionel Messi played his FINAL competitive match on home soil for Argentina last night.

The reigning FIFA World Cup champions had their last home qualifier for the 2026 tournament - which took place at River Plate’s Estadio Monumental - against Venezuela.

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Messi, 38, was predictably the star of the show. The Inter Miami captain scored twice and created one more for Lionel Scaloni’s side in a 3-0 win before bidding an emotional farewell to his adoring public.

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Although Argentina have got a qualifier against Ecuador coming up during this international window, it will take place away from home. Messi won’t play in any case as he has withdrawn citing fatigue - according to reports.

No Mac Allister in Messi farewell game

One man you might have expected to feature against Venezuela was Alexis Mac Allister. But the 2022 World Cup winner played NO part in the game - remaining as an unused substitute on the bench as Scaloni shuffled his pack in midfield.

Mac Allister, 26, had already endured a nightmare international window. The Liverpool midfielder’s itinerary after the Arsenal game on Sunday included a stopover in Amsterdam before flying on to Buenos Aires.

Mac Allister's nightmare schedule

However, the playmaker missed his connecting flight and ended up in Argentina too late to make the initial training sessions and Scaloni went with other options instead.

It was a missed opportunity for Mac Allister due to the suspension of Enzo Fernandez and Leandro Paredes was given the nod instead.

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Macca not yet in peak fitness

Mac Allister, a £35m signing from Brighton in 2023, has been enduring another injury-disrupted spell.

Having finished the 2024/25 Premier League title-winning campaign out of the side due to injury, he was again absent on matchday two of this season against Newcastle.

Although still very much regarded as a key player, Mac Allister has finished neither of the two Premier League games he’s started - against Bournemouth and Arsenal.

It will clearly take some time to get him up to speed following a truncated preseason due to injury.

He may play against Ecuador on September 10 - and Liverpool might well be left to rue the cost of a wasted journey when Macca could have been left to recuperate with his club.