Argentina's Lionel Messi (left) vies for the ball with Chile's Pedro Hernandez during their 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying match at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in this March 2017 file photo.
Buenos Aires: Lionel Messi vowed to "keep fighting" as Argentina attempt to overcome their World Cup qualifying struggles and seal their place in next year's tournament in Russia.
The two-time world champions are fifth in South American qualifying, with only the top four teams guaranteed a place in the 2018 World Cup.
"365 days left to Russia, let's keep fighting for the dream!" Messi wrote on his Facebook page yesterday, as Argentina bid to avoid missing the finals for the first time since 1970.
Arch-rivals Brazil became the first side to qualify for Russia in March, but Argentina trail fourth-placed Chile by a point with four matches left to play.
Jorge Sampaoli's side would face a two-legged play-off against the winners of the Oceania region -- New Zealand or Solomon Islands -- should they finish fifth.
Argentina, without the suspended Messi, crashed to a 2-0 defeat in Bolivia in their most recent qualifier, but the Barcelona star's four-match ban for swearing at an assistant referee has since been overturned by FIFA.
He can now return when qualifying resumes in August with a clash against Uruguay, followed by matches against Venezuela, Peru and Ecuador.
Argentina have won only one of eight World Cup 2018 qualifiers played without Messi, compared to five out of six won with him on the pitch.
Meanwhile, an Argentine fourth division player is facing the sack after admitting that he poked an opponent with a needle during his team's shock cup win over top tier Estudiantes.
Federico Allende, who plays for Sport Club Pacifico in the Federal B championship, said his behaviour was inspired by former Argentine coach Carlos Bilardo, who was reputed to have meted out similar treatment to opponents in his playing days.
Allende was marking Estudiantes forward Juan Otero for most of the Copa Argentina match, which Sport won 3-2, and said that he nipped his rival several times.
"I had to turn to the great Bilardo," Allende said in a radio interview.
"The poor guy (Otero), it did his head in. But what do you want me to do? We know we had to make the game dirty because top division players don't like it. "He must have hated me, BUT that's football."
Otero confirmed that he was poked four times and that he told the referee, who took no action. "I know it was the game of his life, but it's still just a football match," he said.
However, Pacifico President Hector Moncada said Allende's behaviour had overshadowed his team's famous win and he would recommend sacking the player. "We are shocked; it's put a dampener on the team's work," he said.
Bilardo, who himself was part of a highly successful Estudiantes team in the late 1960s, coached Argentine to World Cup victory in 1986 and the runners-up spot four years later.
