Rodrigo De Paul, Alexis Mac Allister and Lautaro Martinez of Argentina warm up prior to the South American FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier match between Ecuador and Argentina at Estadio Monumental Isidro Romero Carbo on September 09, 2025 in Guayaquil, Ecuador.placeholder image
Rodrigo De Paul, Alexis Mac Allister and Lautaro Martinez of Argentina warm up prior to the South American FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier match between Ecuador and Argentina at Estadio Monumental Isidro Romero Carbo on September 09, 2025 in Guayaquil, Ecuador. | Getty Images
Liverpool star Alexis Mac Allister sent a social media message to one of Arsenal’s players after an on-pitch confrontation
Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister has sent a snappy five-word message to Arsenal defender Piero Hincapie after Argentina’s 1-0 loss to Ecuador in World Cup qualifying.
Argentina finished top of South American qualifying with 38 points in the 10-team table, nine above Ecuador who placed second.
Ecuador finished qualifying with a victory, however, as Enner Valencia’s penalty in the 13th minute of first-half stoppage time was enough for the three points against Argentina.
It was feisty encounter with former Manchester City defender Nicolas Otamendi sent off in the first half before Ecuador were also reduced to 10 men when Moises Caicedo was red carded shortly after the second-half restart.
Five other players were also yellow carded as Mac Allister played the entire game but neither him or Hincapie were booked after the pair were involved in a confrontation during the clash.
Alexis Mac Allister sends five-word message to Piero Hincapie
In a video uploaded to his official Tik Tok account, Mac Allister shared a video of him pushing Hincapie with an angry expression on his face as they argued while play had been stopped. Hincapie backed off initially before putting an arm on Mac Allister’s chest to keep the Liverpool midfielder back.
Mac Allister captioned the post with the five words “you are not like that” as he tagged Hincapie and posted a laughing emoji along with two swords crossed over.
Ecuador’s win continued their impressive defensive record in World Cup qualifying as they have conceded just five goals in 18 matches. Argentina are the reigning World Cup champions and easily secured their passage to next summer’s tournament as they look to defend their crown.
Mac Allister played a key role in Argentina’s triumph in Qatar and six months later he secured his move to Liverpool for what now looks like a bargain £35m from Brighton and Hove Albion. However, his performance in the 1-0 loss to Ecuador left much to be desired, according to the Argentine media. Outlet BolaVIP suggested Mac Allister was ‘physically diminished’ while Clarinreported that ‘he barely made any significant interventions for a team that constantly needs him’.
Concerns over Alexis Mac Allister fitness ahead of Burnley clash
Liverpool return to Premier League action against Burnley on Sunday. However, it is unclear if Mac Allister will play a major part. Ahead of the game with Ecuador, Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni admitted Mac Allister was not ‘100 per cent fit’
He still opted to start Mac Allister and have him play the full 90 minutes.
Liverpool have slowly tried to ease the midfielder back to fitness as he only played 19 minutes of the season opener against Crystal Palace before being substituted in the win over Bournemouth. He was not in the squad for the dramatic win over Newcastle United and played for an hour against Arsenal.
Hincapie and Mac Allister have not yet met at club level in England as the Ecuador defender joined Arsenal on deadline day, 24 hours after the Reds had beaten the Gunners 1-0 at Anfield.
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