Julius OkorieWorld Cup winning captain and Argentina’s all-time record goalscorer, Lionel Messi, will miss upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Brazil, it has been revealed.
Argentina are sitting top of the South American section of World Cup qualifying after winning eight, drawing one and losing three of their 12 matches.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe team will continue the qualifiers this Friday when they travel to Montevideo to face Uruguay at the Estadio Centenario on Friday, this will be followed by next Tuesday’s clash with perennial rivals Brazil at the Estadio Mas Monumental in Buenos Aires.
Lionel Scaloni would have loved to have his talisman who was originally included in the provisional squad on board but a scan on Monday revealed that the 37 year old has sustained an adductor injury. The scan came the morning after Inter Miami’s 2-1 victory against Atlanta United at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Messi found the net in the 20th minute to cancel out Emmanuel Latte Lath’s opener, before Fafa Picault scored a late winner to snatch all three points.
Messi only returned to action for last Thursday’s CONCACAF Champions Cup clash against Cavalier after he had sat out three consecutive games due to load management. Messi was not the only missing in coach Scaloni’s squad though, as River Plate defender Gonzalo Montiel, Real Betis midfielder Giovani Lo Celso and Roma attacker Paulo Dybala were all left out due to injury.
The duo of Manchester City’s, Claudio Echeverri and Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho, also failed to make the final pick.
There are four Premier League players in Scaloni’s 26-man party, including Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez, Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez and Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister.
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Tottenham Hotspur defender, Cristian Romero, is also on the list despite only returning from an injury layoff earlier this month.
Here Is Argentina’s Full List For The Double Header:
Goalkeepers:
Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Gerónimo Rulli (Marseille), Walter Benitez (PSV Eindhoven)
Defenders:
Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid), Juan Foyth (Villarreal), Cristian Romero (Tottenham Hotspur), German Pezzella (River Plate), Leonardo Balerdi (Marseille), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Facundo Medina (Lens), Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon)
Midfielders:
Leandro Paredes (Roma), Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea), Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool), Maximo Perrone (Como)
Forwards:
Giuliano Simeone (Atletico Madrid), Benjamin Domínguez (Bologna), Thiago Almada (Lyon), Nicolas Gonzalez (Juventus), Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid), Nico Paz (Como), Julian Alvarez (Atletico Madrid), Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan), Santiago Castro (Bologna)
Messi led Argentina to World Cup victory at the last World Cup in Qatar , beating France 4-2 on penalties after the highly epic final ended in 3-3 at regulation and extra time.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
