Former Barcelona player Javier Mascherano has confirmed that it is impossible to dribble past his compatriot Lionel Messi due to his great defensive abilities.
Mascherano said in statements published by the Spanish newspaper “Sport”: “If Messi was a defender, he would probably be one of the best defenders in the world. It is impossible to dribble past him. Sometimes, at Barcelona, we played one against one and it was impossible to beat him.”
He added, “We had no chance against him. Sometimes attackers know how to defend. Leo defended very well. He was very fast and when I tried to dribble past him it was impossible.”
On the other hand, the Argentine national team tied with its Venezuelan counterpart, with one goal each, in the match that took place between them in the ninth round of the South American qualifiers for the World Cup finals in the United States in partnership with Canada and Mexico 2026.
Nicolas Otamendi scored the first goal for Argentina in the 13th minute, then Salomon Rondon equalized for the Venezuelan national team in the 65th minute.
With this result, the Argentine national team continues to lead the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, with 19 points from a total of nine matches played so far.
While the Venezuelan national team is in seventh place with 11 points collected from 9 matches, as it won two matches, lost two matches, and tied in 5 matches.