عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Sports

Injured Messi Out of Argentina’s Squad for World Cup Qualifiers Against Chile and Colombia 

Argentina's forward #10 Lionel Messi leaves the pitch after picking up an injury during the Conmebol 2024 Copa America tournament final football match between Argentina and Colombia at the Hard Rock Stadium, in Miami, Florida on July 14, 2024. (AFP)
Argentina's forward #10 Lionel Messi leaves the pitch after picking up an injury during the Conmebol 2024 Copa America tournament final football match between Argentina and Colombia at the Hard Rock Stadium, in Miami, Florida on July 14, 2024. (AFP)
TT
TT

Injured Messi Out of Argentina’s Squad for World Cup Qualifiers Against Chile and Colombia 

Argentina's forward #10 Lionel Messi leaves the pitch after picking up an injury during the Conmebol 2024 Copa America tournament final football match between Argentina and Colombia at the Hard Rock Stadium, in Miami, Florida on July 14, 2024. (AFP)
Argentina's forward #10 Lionel Messi leaves the pitch after picking up an injury during the Conmebol 2024 Copa America tournament final football match between Argentina and Colombia at the Hard Rock Stadium, in Miami, Florida on July 14, 2024. (AFP)

Lionel Messi will not play in Argentina’s next two World Cup qualifiers because of injury.

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni announced his 28-man squad on Monday for the matches against Chile on Sept. 5 and Colombia five days later.

Messi is still recovering from a right ankle injury.

The 36-year-old Ángel Di María, who retired from the national team after winning the recent Copa America, is not on the list either.

World Cup champion Argentina leads South American qualifying with 15 points after six matches.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Walter Benítez (PSV Eindhoven), Gerónimo Rulli (Olympique Marseille), Juan Musso (Atalanta), Emiliano Martínez (Aston Villa).

Defenders: Gonzalo Montiel (Sevilla), Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid), Cristian Romero (Tottenham), Germán Pezzella (River Plate), Leonardo Balerdi (Olympique Marseille), Nicolás Otamendi (Benfica), Lisandro Martínez (Manchester United), Nicolás Tagliafico (Olympique Lyon), Valentín Barco (Brighton).

Midfielders: Leandro Paredes (Roma), Guido Rodríguez (West Ham), Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool), Enzo Fernández (Chelsea), Giovani Lo Celso (Tottenham), Ezequiel Fernández (Al Qadisiya), Rodrigo de Paul (Atletico Madrid), Nico González (Fiorentina).

Forwards: Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United), Matías Soulé (Roma), Giuliano Simeone, Julián Álvarez both (Atletico Madrid), Valentín Carboni (Olympique Marseille), Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan) and Valentín Castellanos (Lazio).

Most Viewed

 
 
Sports

Top-Ranked Sinner Reaches Final in Cincinnati; Women’s No. 1 Swiatek Falls to Sabalenka 

Alexander Zverev of Germany (L) and Jannik Sinner of Italy embrace after Sinner won their match 7-6, 5-7, 7-6 during Day 8 of the Cincinnati Open at the Lindner Family Tennis Center on August 18, 2024 in Mason, Ohio. (Getty Images/AFP)
Alexander Zverev of Germany (L) and Jannik Sinner of Italy embrace after Sinner won their match 7-6, 5-7, 7-6 during Day 8 of the Cincinnati Open at the Lindner Family Tennis Center on August 18, 2024 in Mason, Ohio. (Getty Images/AFP)
TT
TT

Top-Ranked Sinner Reaches Final in Cincinnati; Women’s No. 1 Swiatek Falls to Sabalenka 

Alexander Zverev of Germany (L) and Jannik Sinner of Italy embrace after Sinner won their match 7-6, 5-7, 7-6 during Day 8 of the Cincinnati Open at the Lindner Family Tennis Center on August 18, 2024 in Mason, Ohio. (Getty Images/AFP)
Alexander Zverev of Germany (L) and Jannik Sinner of Italy embrace after Sinner won their match 7-6, 5-7, 7-6 during Day 8 of the Cincinnati Open at the Lindner Family Tennis Center on August 18, 2024 in Mason, Ohio. (Getty Images/AFP)

Top-ranked Jannik Sinner outlasted Alexander Zverev in a third-set tiebreaker Sunday to reach the Cincinnati Open final, while No. 1 Iga Swiatek fell to No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka in the women's semifinals.

In the final Monday, Sinner will play American Frances Tiafoe, and Sabalenka will meet American Jessica Pegula.

Sinner emerged with a 7-6 (9), 5-7, 7-6 (4) victory after 3 hours, 7 minutes, tying Casper Ruud for the ATP Tour lead by reaching his fifth final of the season. In the late match, Tiafoe rallied to beat 15th-seeded Holger Rune 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4).

Sinner leads the tour with four titles this season.

The first set against Zverev lasted more than an hour and the match also was suspended for 30 minutes by rain.

Zverev, the No. 4 seed, had won four straight meetings against Sinner. Sinner finished with a 124-121 edge in total points.

"I think we both raised our level when it counted," Sinner said. "The tiebreaker can go both ways. I just tried to stay there mentally. Obviously, I'm happy to be in the final."

Sinner, who's been dealing with a right hip issue, was seen grabbing that area early in Sunday's match but said he came through fine physically.

"Sometimes I feel it," Sinner said. "I have to check after this tournament here. I haven't had too much time to recover before coming here. I'm not worried yet. I'm happy to play."

Sabalenka reached the final in Cincinnati for the first time with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Swiatek, ending the five-time Grand Slam winner's 15-match winning streak and avenging losses in the finals in Madrid and Rome.

"Really happy with the win, especially against Iga, who is always a tough battle," Sabalenka said. "To get the win in straight sets, that's kind of an achievement for me."

Swiatek, who’s been on top of the WTA rankings for 116 weeks, was satisfied with her week in Cincinnati.

"I pretty much did better than I expected, honestly, especially on this surface," Swiatek said. "I'm happy with the result anyway, and already focusing on what I need to do to feel even better in New York."

The US Open begins Aug. 26. Swiatek won the title in 2022.

Pegula, the No. 6 seed, beat Paula Badosa 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 after their semifinal was suspended more than an hour by rain.

She is the third American to reach the finals in Canada — where she successfully defended her title last Monday — and Cincinnati in a calendar year, the first since Serena Williams in 2013.

"We've had a lot of great battles in the past," Sabalenka said. "She's a great player. Going to be another great match."