Messi Deserts Argentina Team After 3-1 Loss to Venezuela

Captain of the team, Lionel Messi, has left camp, following a 3-1 loss to Venezuela in an international friendly played in Madrid.

Messi returned to international duty for the first time since the 2018 World Cup on Friday, but it was a disappointing night for the forward.

Venezuela put three past their more illustrious rivals, with goals from Salomon Rondon, Jhon Murillo, and Josef Martinez.

Lautaro Martinez scored Argentina's consolation.

The team announced after the loss that Messi will miss Tuesday's match against Morocco as a precaution following a groin injury.

"The second half left us with positive things and the first half with negative ones. Better that they happened that way.

"We learned a lot from this loss. The situations we created were largely in due part to Messi. This match helped us to see how [the others] played alongside Messi," Argentina manager, Luis Scaloni, told reporters after the game