Hurricane hits Argentina’s preparations for World Cup qualifiers

MIAMI — Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni said Tuesday that he was unsure when his team would be able to travel to Venezuela for their World Cup qualifier as Hurricane Milton approached Florida’s west coast.

The category five storm swept across the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday bound for Florida, where the reigning world champions have set up camp ahead of Thursday’s clash in the northeastern Venezuelan city of Maturin, reports Xinhua.

“The game is important but the safety issue is even more important,” Scaloni told reporters from Argentina’s training base in Fort Lauderdale.

“We are worried and we’re waiting to see if we can in fact travel tomorrow as planned.”

Fort Lauderdale is not expected to be heavily impacted by the hurricane but local authorities have issued tropical storm and flood alerts. Florida governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in more than 50 counties.

Hundreds of flights to and from Florida were canceled on Tuesday, according to tracking service FlightAware, and several airports closed ahead of the hurricane making landfall as soon as Wednesday night.

“It [the logistics] will be difficult for us,” Scaloni said, adding that the team had planned to travel on Tuesday but were prevented from doing so because of the severe weather.

“We will arrive just one day before the game. We have to make a stop because they are not allowing flights from United States soil directly to Venezuela.

“These are things that do not depend on us. We have had bad luck with this situation. But the most important thing is the safety and health for the players and the rest of us.”

Argentina, who will also meet Bolivia in Buenos Aires next Tuesday (Oct. 15), have been hit by injuries to Marcos Acuna and Alejandro Garnacho while goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez is suspended.

Scaloni said that captain Lionel Messi is fully fit after missing the team’s September qualifiers against Chile and Colombia because of an ankle injury.

“Leo is fine. He played several games before joining us and that’s what he needed, to get minutes,” Scaloni said. “Before the last qualifiers, we agreed that he wouldn’t be called up because he needed to play. Now he’s fit, he’s fine and he’ll be part of the team.”

Argentina currently lead the 10-team South American zone standings with 18 points from eight games, two points ahead of second-placed Colombia.