Lionel Messi fell ill during flight after extreme turbulence

The Argentine forward, Lionel Messi suffered from illness after severe turbulence affected the Argentina national team’s flight to San Juan. According to various reports, Messi and some other players suffered from discomfort due to air-sickness.

In a report in Sport English, it was stated that the aeroplane which had set off around midday from Ezeiza ran into turbulence and the Argentine star suffered from bouts of dizziness and felt faint.

The Argentina team’s selection secretary, Jorge Miadosqui did confirm the report and stated, “The flight moved a bit, yes, but it's normal when one goes to San Juan.”

Qualification campaign

Argentina takes on Colombia in a World Cup qualifier on Wednesday and will hope to have Messi fit and firing. Argentina currently lies outside the automatic qualification, while their opponents, on the other hand, are only a mere two points ahead and 6 behind leaders Brazil.

Argentina’s qualifying campaign till date for the 2018 World Cup has not gone to plan. Having played 11 games, they have been able to eke out a mere 16 points, and have had four defeats in this campaign.

The top four from the CONMEBOL region automatically qualify and the team finishing fifth will play a play-off with a nation from Asia. Argentina is in sixth position and the 3-0 loss to Brazil last week has made the fans jittery of their chances to qualify.

Back in the summer, Messi had chosen to retire from international football before a sudden change in heart prompted his return to the squad.

Crucial match

Argentina were thrashed 3-0 by Brazil in their last fixture and now must win against Colombia to avoid falling further off the pace.

After the game, the Argentinean captain Messi said, “We're down but we're still alive. We have to forget the situation we're in and start thinking about Colombia. If we get a result against Colombia it will make things look a lot different.”

While stalwarts like Mascherano have stated the need for stronger performances to get back on track, Messi continues to carry the hopes of a nation which last tasted the glory of a World Cup in 1986.

Edgardo Bauza, the Argentinean coach has acknowledged the need for the team to improve ahead of their next game and was of the view that the Brazil result was unexpected in a certain way, stating, “It's a hard defeat. I did not think we would lose 3-0, I thought it would be an even game.”