Mascherano, 40, is a former teammate of Miami star Lionel Messi. The two were teammates at FC Barcelona from 2010-18.

"I can't explain what happened. We spent about an hour and a half in the dressing room where they never told us what was going to happen," Mascherano told reporters.

Argentina secured their place at the Games after beating Brazil 1-0 on Sunday in the final four of South America's qualifying tournament.

Veteran Argentina midfielder Javier Mascherano says he will step down from international duty after the 2018 World Cup.

Javier Maschernao has hailed Barcelona team-mate Lionel Messi as “the best player in the history of the game” and fully expects him to extend his contract with the club.

Barcelona defender Javier Mascherano extended his contract with the Catalan giants until 2019 on Monday.

Argentina coach Edgardo Bauza says that Lionel Messi made his commitment to his national team clear during the recent conversation which led the Barcelona star to end his short-lived international retirement.

Javier Mascherano has won 16 major trophies in his career, but he still couldn't avoid being nutmegged by Lionel Messi during training in an open session.

Argentina were below-par all evening and finally slumped to a 2-0 defeat against Ecuador in Buenos Aires, as the absences of Messi and Aguero were felt keenly up-front.

Javier Mascherano has called upon his Argentina team-mates to pull together and move forward in the absence of Lionel Messi.

Argentina forward Lionel Messi displayed mixed form from the penalty spot whilst goals from Marc Bartra and Neymar helped Barcelona to victory.