Nearly joined Benfica, now shines at Messi’s farewell with Otamendi | OneFootball

During the last summer market, Benfica, led by Rui Costa, attempted to sign the creative Thiago Almada, who subsequently transferred to Atletico Madrid. A month after the midfielder slipped through the eagles' grasp, he stood out in the Argentina - Venezuela match, where he played alongside Nicolás Otamendi and assisted one of Lionel Messi's goals.

Starting in the eleven presented by Scaloni, the new creative force of the colchoneros quickly became one of the match's main figures, where he was very present in the world champions' offensive maneuvers. At the 80th minute, the ex-Botafogo player assisted Messi's second goal, who scored twice against the Venezuelans.

Before the former Benfica target served the albiceleste captain, the current forward of the North American Inter Miami opened the scoring, shaking the opponent's net at the 39th minute, after a precise pass from Julián Álvarez.

In the meantime, in a match where Nicolás Otamendi also started and played the full 90 minutes, the albiceleste, after going into the break leading by one goal to zero, scored the second goal of the match through Lautaro Martínez, who was assisted by Nicolás González, who was once in Benfica's sights.

With their qualification for the 2026 World Cup already secured, Argentina will fulfill their competitive schedule on September 10th, with a visit to Ecuador's stronghold, which will take place in the early hours, Portugal time. The fact that Otamendi is participating in this game, puts the eagles' captain at risk for the duel with Santa Clara.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.