"The game was unplayable, but we did what we had to do"

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said on Thursday that his side's match against Venezuela was "not playable" because of the accumulation of water on the pitch, which hindered the flow of the game.

"It was not playable. We did what we had to do, but the conditions on the pitch were not suitable for a show between teams of this level," Scaloni told reporters. He also said that the match could have been played a day later than scheduled after heavy rain delayed the start of the game by half an hour and left the pitch soaked.

Messi, who missed Argentina's last round of fixtures in September due to injury, looked to have put the world champions on course for victory after his free-kick helped set up Nicolas Otamendi's 13th-minute opener in the Venezuelan city of Maturin.

But a battling performance by Venezuela in front of their home fans was rewarded midway through the second half when veteran striker Salomon Rondon met Yeferson Soteldo's cross with a header that flew past Argentina goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli.

Despite the dropped points, 2022 World Cup winners Argentina remain firmly on course for a place at the 2026 finals, which are being staged in the United States, Canada and Mexico.