Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni has revealed why captain Lionel Messi was not included in his team's 3-0 World Cup qualifying win over Bolivia on Tuesday.

The Albiceleste were missing their captain, but goals from Enzo Fernandez, Nicolas Tagliafico, and Nicolas Gonzalez were enough to secure a victory.

”The main talk was that we play football, that it could be played. With the added difficulty, that the ball goes faster, the lack of air… If we were able to move the ball to the man and not to the space, we would be able to score a goal.”

In response to Messi's absence, the World Cup-winning coach stated, “Leo was not ready to play. He tried to recover yesterday but he didn’t feel comfortable and we didn’t risk it. It wasn’t important because there are important things coming.”

Argentina presently sits second in CONMEBOL with six points after two games.

On October 13, they will face Paraguay in their next World Cup qualifier.