Barcelona Superstar Lionel Messi Withdraws From Argentina-Nigeria Friendly

Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi will not be on parade at the Krasnodar Stadium, Krasnodar, venue of the pre-World Cup friendly between Argentina and Nigeria on Tuesday, November 14.

According to Ole Argentina, manager of the two-time world champions Jorge Sampaoli has opted not to field his skipper against the Super Eagles.

And it has been suggested that the striker will only feature against World Cup hosts Russia at the Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow on November 11.

This same scenario happened in the Albiceleste's last international friendlies against Brazil (June 9) and Singapore (June 13), when Messi went the distance against the Seleção but was omitted from the match day squad against the Asians.

Across all levels, Lionel Messi has faced the Nigerian national teams five times in the past and has scored six goals, including four against the Super Eagles.

Meanwhile, VfB Stuttgart left-back Emiliano Insúa was handed a late call-up by manager Sampaoli on Tuesday, as replacement for the injured AC Milan star Lucas Biglia, who suffers from an inflammation in the patellar tendon of his left knee.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

Photo Credit : twitter.com/Pee4Pius