MOSCOW, Jan 27 Argentina national football team head coach Lionel Scaloni said: that the coronavirus infection suffered by striker Lionel Messi had a strong impact on the player, and therefore he was not called up to the national team for the 2022 World Cup qualifying matches. In early January, it became known that Messi had contracted the coronavirus. On January 18, the striker returned to training with the French side Paris Saint-Germain in the general group. «Obviously we would like Messi to be in the squad. I talked to him and he said that the coronavirus had affected him a lot. Important so that he fully recovers, so I decided that the best solution for him would be to stay at the club,» Scaloni was quoted as saying by the official Twitter account of the Argentina national team. The Argentina national team will meet the Chilean players on the road on January 28, and on February 2 will host the Colombians. Messi has made 16 appearances for PSG this season, scoring six goals.
