Hurricane Milton prevents Argentina team from traveling to Venezuela
Argentines denied boarding for qualifying match; team prepares in Miami, United States
The Argentine national team was unable to travel to Venezuela for their next South American qualifying match. The world champions were in Miami for training, but were prevented from boarding due to Hurricane Milton, which is affecting the state of Florida in the United States.
Argentina and Venezuela will face off at the Monumental de Maturín, Venezuela’s largest stadium, at 6 p.m. (Brasília time) on Thursday. As travel on Tuesday was not permitted, the Argentines will attempt another flight on Wednesday, one day before the game.
In addition to the hurricane, Argentines are also facing problems with relations between the United States and Venezuela. It is not permitted to board direct flights from the United States to the South American country due to diplomatic issues between the countries, which are considered political rivals.
– It will be difficult to arrive the next day (Thursday) because we cannot go directly to Maturín. We have to make a stopover because they do not allow landings from American soil directly in Venezuela. These are things that do not depend on us, we were unlucky in that – said Lionel Scaloni, Argentina’s coach.
– Everyone is on alert. We asked to travel, but today it was not possible. They denied us the trip. We will travel tomorrow if the weather permits – he continued.
The Argentine national team has chosen to prepare for the match in Miami, where Lionel Messi plays. After facing Venezuela, the current world champions will play at the Monumental, home of River Plate, against Bolivia next Tuesday.
Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall in Florida early Thursday morning. More than 1 million people have been ordered to evacuate their homes. According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center, the hurricane’s winds reached 160 mph (260 km/h).
Hurricane Milton strengthened to Category 5 status on Tuesday after losing strength, and US President Joe Biden said it was expected to be the worst hurricane to hit Florida in more than 100 years.
