Argentina's Lionel Messi did not want to make a big deal out of the incident after being spat at by Sanabria, during the Argentina - Paraguay match in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
"My teammates told me in the locker room," Messi said about Antonio Sanabria spitting at him during the match on the morning of October 13. "It's better to leave this matter alone."
Messi also confirmed that he did not know who Sanabria was and did not want to make a big deal out of it. He thought that if he did this, Sanabria would become more famous and would go public about the incident.
Sanabria (right) spits at Messi during the Argentina - Paraguay match. Photo: Youtube
Messi entered the field in the 53rd minute. The 36-year-old striker almost scored with two free kicks that hit the post. Messi has just returned from injury for Inter Miami in the MLS. Since the national team training session in September, Messi has only played 72 minutes.
"I'm very happy to be back playing," added the Argentina captain. "It's always difficult to start, even more so in a tight game like this. The important thing is that we won and played well, especially in the first half."
Argentina beat Paraguay 1-0 thanks to a goal from centre-back Nicolas Otamendi in the third minute. Messi and his teammates won their third consecutive match in the qualifying round, after defeating Ecuador 1-0 and Bolivia 3-0 in their first two matches. Messi scored in the match against Ecuador, but sat out the away match in Bolivia due to fitness issues.
Argentina currently lead the South American qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup with a perfect nine points, two points ahead of second-placed Brazil. Paraguay, meanwhile, have dropped to eighth place with one point from three games. The South American qualifying round consists of 10 teams, with the top six advancing directly to the finals. The seventh-placed team will have to play a play-off against representatives from another continent.
On October 17, Argentina will visit ninth-placed Peru. Meanwhile, Paraguay will host bottom-placed Bolivia.
Sanabria is playing for Torino in Serie A, after moving 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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