Messi went down to the Argentina dressing room at half-time

"Leo is always with us, he was in the dressing room... He's very focused on the World Cup, we really felt his absence on the pitch... I highlight Leo's closeness to the group, he even talked with the players at half-time," Sampaoli revealed in his post-match press conference.

"These are situations which help you get closer to the objective that makes you happy. He was always trying to encourage the new guys, something that shows he is very involved with the national team which is an added bonus."

Messi missed the game due to a hamstring issue and is now a doubt for Barcelona's La Liga clash with Sevilla at the weekend.

In his absence, Argentina capitulated, falling to a 6-1 defeat at Atletico Madrid's Wanda Metropolitano.

Sampaoli, meanwhile, praised Messi for remaining with his national team, despite his injury, saying: "Leo trained with us, he had a good week of training but he still had some discomfort in his leg. Following the final training session he felt that fatigue and decided that he couldn't feature."

In the end, a Messi-less Argentina crashed to their joint-record defeat, leaving their dreams of winning the World Cup a long way off with just 78 days to go untilt he start of the tournament.