Argentina began preparations for the World Cup on Friday in Qatar and immediately faced the first anxious moment of the campaign.
Their captain and star forward Lionel Messi will be carrying the hopes of the nation during the World Cup but it was his absence from the team's first training session that got the most attention.
The PSG star was not seen during the open training session at the team's Qatar University base. It raised concerns about Messi's fitness and even resulted in speculation about a possible injury during his team's friendly against the UAE.
However, Argentine outlet Ole stated that Messi started Friday's training session in the gym as part of a 'special' programme. He reportedly joined Lionel Scaloni's squad for the second half of the training session.
The team flew in early Thursday from Abu Dhabi, where they beat UAE 5-0 in their final World Cup warm-up on Wednesday night with Messi, 35, scoring his 91st international goal.
One of the favourites going into this year's World Cup, the South Americans will begin their campaign on Tuesday against Saudi Arabia in Group C, which also includes Mexico and Poland.
Messi has lifted a number trophies but the tournament in Qatar is likely to be his final chance to equal the achievement of fellow Argentine great Diego Maradona, a World Cup winner in 1986.
However, the Paris Saint-Germain forward was cautious about the team's chances.
"We are very excited," the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner said in an interview with CONMEBOL, the South American football federation.
"We have a very nice group that is very eager, but we think about going little by little. We know that World Cup groups are not easy."
The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
The five stages of early child’s play
From Dubai-based clinical psychologist Daniella Salazar:
1. Solitary Play: This is where Infants and toddlers start to play on their own without seeming to notice the people around them. This is the beginning of play.
2. Onlooker play: This occurs where the toddler enjoys watching other people play. There doesn’t necessarily need to be any effort to begin play. They are learning how to imitate behaviours from others. This type of play may also appear in children who are more shy and introverted.
3. Parallel Play: This generally starts when children begin playing side-by-side without any interaction. Even though they aren’t physically interacting they are paying attention to each other. This is the beginning of the desire to be with other children.
4. Associative Play: At around age four or five, children become more interested in each other than in toys and begin to interact more. In this stage children start asking questions and talking about the different activities they are engaging in. They realise they have similar goals in play such as building a tower or playing with cars.
5. Social Play: In this stage children are starting to socialise more. They begin to share ideas and follow certain rules in a game. They slowly learn the definition of teamwork. They get to engage in basic social skills and interests begin to lead social interactions.
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Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
