Because Galtier didn’t call Messi up for the first knockout round of the French Cup that PSG is playing today

The second half of the 2022-23 season did not start in the best way for Paris Saint Germain, accustomed to walking ahead of his French peers: three wins and two defeats in five official matches after the World Cup, keeping the lead in the standings championship 1 but with just three points ahead of Lens, one of his executioners.

Several figures from the Parisian squad represented their teams in Qatar 2022 and they got to the final stages, with how physically taxing it is to play a mid-season World Cup, and they seem to show the accumulation of parties. The defeat against Rennes, with Messi, Neymar and Mbappe from the start, was a wake-up call.

Because, Lionel Messi has not been called up for the match that PSG will play today, at 16:45 in Argentina, for the French Cup. For the final 16 of the national competition, those led by Christopher Galtier they will be looking to come back to victory when they face the lowly Pays de Cassel of the United States.

When the club announced their squad, there were fears of a possible injury for the 35-year-old Argentinian star, but it has finally been confirmed that they simply want to rest him and save him for the biggest games of the season. Tuesday 14 February and Wednesday 8 March, first as a local and then as a visitor, They will face the round of 16 of the Champions League against Bayern Munich.

Neymar and Mbappé, on the other hand, will be available to Galtier and should start as starters, as well as Achraf Hakimi and Marquinhos, among other figures of the French champion. Sergio Ramos, meanwhile, would leave as a substitute.

Messi, it has been said, will rest after what was the tour of Qatar and Saudi Arabia which included Thursday’s friendly against the star team of the Saudi championship led by Cristiano Ronaldo and directed by Marcellus Gallardo.

reality clash

On the one hand, the most powerful club in France, full of numbers, and one of the most important in the world. On the other, a humble sixth division team made up of semi-professional footballers who dream of historic success. The differences between a €900m team and another €400,000 are clear.

However, games must be played and, as they say, “this is football”. The boys of Union Sportive Pays de Cassel cling to that illusion, who have just eliminated Wasquehal from Ligue 2 on penalties and will experience a historic day against the PSG star constellation. Without Messi, of course, but with other great figures.

They will face each other at the Bollaert-Delelis stadium in the city of Lens, given that the Pays de Cassel venue has a capacity of just over two thousand spectators and does not reach the limits set by the organizers of the French Cup.

Probable formation of PSG: Kaylor Navas; Achraf Hakimi, Marquinhos, Bitshiabu, Nuno Mendes; Zaire Emery, Vitor Ferreira, Gharbi; Neymar, Mbappe and Ilyes Housni.