Without Messi, Argentina narrowly defeats Venezuela

11/10/2025 10:31:00 ScoreStream

(Football result) - Argentina secured a 1-0 win against Venezuela in Messi's absence.

Argentina faced Venezuela without their number one star Lionel Messi. "El Pulga" chose to prioritize Inter Miami at this stage, so he stayed on the bench watching his teammates from the stands.

The match started at a high pace and immediately saw dangerous chances. In the 6th minute, Lautaro Martinez (Argentina) missed a golden opportunity as his close-range shot was brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Jose Contreras (Venezuela), sending the ball out for a corner. At the 18th minute, Argentina kept up the pressure when Nico Paz fired a beautiful long-range shot that struck the right goalpost.

Không có Messi, Argentina thắng chật vật Venezuela 720165 — Messi watched his teammates from the stands

It wasn’t until the 31st minute that Argentina scored the opening goal. Lautaro Martinez delivered a precise short pass inside the box, allowing Giovani Lo Celso to evade a defender and fire an unstoppable shot into the low left corner, making it 1-0. The first half ended with Argentina holding this advantage.

In the second half, both teams made several substitutions to refresh their tactics. Venezuela nearly equalized in the 74th minute. From a corner kick, Teo Quintero found space and unleashed a shot that hit the crossbar of Argentina’s goal.

Không có Messi, Argentina thắng chật vật Venezuela 720162 — Lo Celso scored the only goal of the match

In the final minutes, Argentina had multiple chances to seal the game. At the 86th minute, Lautaro Martinez again missed an incredible chance when his close-range one-touch shot was superbly saved by goalkeeper Jose Contreras. Contreras then made another outstanding save from a rebound shot also by Lautaro Martinez.

The match ended tensely with a yellow card shown to Cristian Casseres (Venezuela) in the 88th minute. Despite many opportunities, no further goals were scored. Argentina won the match 1-0.