Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said their staff had worked separately with 34-year-old Messi to prepare him for the mouth-watering doubleheader against Uruguay in Montevideo and next Tuesday’s game at home to Brazil.
“In principle, we believe that Leo is good,” Scaloni told reporters. “Leo wants to play and I want him to play.”
Messi’s call-up caused some unhappiness with PSG general manager Leonardo but Scaloni sought to play down any rift.
“We have a relationship with Leonardo and their (reaction) is understandable, that Messi has spent a lot of time with the national team recently,” Scaloni said.
“But there can be no doubt that we are within the rules calling him up. This has always been a problem for European clubs.”
Argentina are second in South America’s 10-team qualifying group, six points behind Brazil after 11 games.
The top four qualify automatically for Qatar 2022 and the fifth-placed side goes into an inter-regional playoff.
Winners of the Copa America in July, Argentina are unbeaten in 25 games, a run that stretches back to mid-2019.
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