On Thursday night time, Lionel Messi performed his last match within the World Cup qualifiers, scoring twice in Argentina’s 3-0 victory over Venezuela. Alongside him was Actual Madrid rising star Franco Mastantuono, who later shared his sincere ideas concerning the expertise of taking part in subsequent to Leo.
“It’s unbelievable to play with him—actually, it was the dream of my life,” Mastantuono admitted in an interview shared by TyC Sports activities after the match towards Venezuela. The younger winger added one other particular element: “Doing it at River’s stadium made it much more unbelievable.”
For Mastantuono, it was solely his second look with the Argentina senior nationwide workforce, following his debut in the course of the June worldwide break towards Chile. It was additionally his first time as a starter, and he performed 63 minutes earlier than being changed by Nicolas Gonzalez.
Reflecting on what it means to share the pitch with Messi, Franco was candid. “Like I’ve at all times stated, he’s been my idol since I used to be a child. I watched his whole profession rising up, and seeing him play like he did—with the ability to say goodbye in that manner—it’s what he deserves and what all of us wished to see,” he defined.
Franco Mastantuono of Argentina controls the ball subsequent to Lionel Messi.
Mastantuono apologizes to Messi
Each left-footed and naturally inclined to play on the appropriate wing, Mastantuono and Messi had been concerned in a number of attacking strikes collectively throughout their time on the sphere towards Venezuela. One specific play, nonetheless, stood out.
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After a collection of passes between a number of Argentine gamers, Leo arrange Franco with a intelligent help. Messi was anticipating the return move, however the Actual Madrid expertise selected to take the shot himself—sending it large and instantly apologizing to his captain.
Requested concerning the second within the post-match press convention, Mastantuono supplied a light-hearted response. “I wished to kill myself,” he stated with a smile. “But it surely’s okay, he understood me and I apologized for the play.”
Will Mastantuono make the 2026 World Cup squad?
After being topped champions in Qatar 2022, Argentina has continued its successful methods lately, lifting the Copa America 2024 and ending atop the South American qualifiers for the World Cup 2026, properly forward of the competitors.
Nevertheless, that path has included important adjustments to the roster, with the departure of a number of veterans and the emergence of a brand new wave of younger expertise steadily incomes their place. Franco Mastantuono is amongst them, and he’ll be competing for one of many 26 spots on head coach Lionel Scaloni’s last checklist. That battle, although, might be fierce.
Argentina boast a deep group of attacking midfielders and forwards who might want to stand out to safe a spot within the squads headed to the US, Mexico, and Canada. Among the many established names are Leandro Paredes, Rodrigo De Paul, Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister, Thiago Almada, Giovani Lo Celso, Exequiel Palacios, and Nicolas Gonzalez.
However there’s additionally a promising crop of younger gamers, together with Mastantuono, Nicolas Paz, Alejandro Garnacho, Valentin Carboni, Claudio Echeverri, and Facundo Buonanotte. Clearly, not everybody will make the reduce.
