Messi ignores the incident where an opponent spat on him.

Argentina's Lionel Messi doesn't want to make a big deal out of being spat on by Sanabria during the Argentina-Paraguay World Cup 2026 qualifying match.

"My teammates told me about it in the dressing room," Messi said about Antonio Sanabria spitting at him during the match on October 13th. "It's better to leave this matter alone."

Messi also stated that he did not know who Sanabria was and did not want to make a big deal out of it. He argued that doing so would only make Sanabria more famous and encourage her to spread rumors about the incident.

Sanabria (right) spits at Messi during the Argentina-Paraguay match. Photo: Youtube. — Sanabria (right) spits at Messi during the Argentina-Paraguay match. Photo: *Youtube.*

Messi came on in the 53rd minute. The 36-year-old striker nearly scored with two free kicks that hit the post. Messi had just returned from injury playing for Inter Miami in the MLS. Since the international break in September, Messi had only played 72 minutes.

"I'm very happy to be playing again," the Argentina captain added. "Getting into the game is always difficult, even more so in a tight match like this. The important thing is that we won and played well, especially in the first half."

Argentina defeated Paraguay 1-0 thanks to a single goal from defender Nicolas Otamendi in the third minute. Messi and his teammates won their third consecutive qualifying match, after beating Ecuador 1-0 and Bolivia 3-0 in their first two games. Messi scored against Ecuador but was sidelined for the away match against Bolivia due to fitness issues.

Argentina currently leads the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in the South American region with nine points, two points ahead of second-placed Brazil. Meanwhile, with one point after three matches, Paraguay has dropped to eighth place. The South American qualifying round consists of 10 teams, with the top six teams advancing directly to the finals. The seventh-placed team must compete in a play-off against a representative from another continent.

On October 17th, Argentina will play away against ninth-placed Peru. Meanwhile, Paraguay will host bottom-placed Bolivia at home.

Sanabria is currently playing for Torino in Serie A, after transferring from Betis in 2021. The 27-year-old Paraguayan striker trained at Barca's La Masia academy from 2009 to 2013. In the 2013-2014 season, Sanabria played 10 matches and scored three goals for Barca B, before moving to Italy to play for Sassuolo.

Thanh Quy (according to TyC Sports )

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