After recovering from an injury, Lionel Messi was called up by coach Scaloni to attend two World Cup 2026 qualifying matches this October.
Lionel Messi remains an important factor in the Argentine national team. (Source: Imago)
A month ago, Lionel Messi missed two matches in Argentina’s 2026 World Cup qualifiers due to injury. But in this October meeting, the superstar who won 8 Ballon d’Or titles returned. He was immediately included in the squad list called up by coach Lionel Scaloni.
In fact, Messi has been playing again since mid-September with a fairly good performance. He scored 3 goals and contributed 1 assist in 4 games in the US Major League Soccer for the Inter Miami Club.
Messi’s return is very important for Argentina. A month ago, without El Pulga, Tango’s team lost to Colombia.
This defeat halted the Albiceleste’s unbeaten streak in all competitions, which was 12. However, Argentina continues to lead the qualifying table for the 2026 World Cup in South America with 18 points after 8 games.
Despite being 37 years old, Messi remains a very important factor in coach Scaloni’s squad. With 109 goals, El Pulga is the greatest striker in the history of the Argentine national team. He is also the player with the most international caps for the Albiceleste (187 matches).
In the 2026 South America World Cup qualifiers, Lionel Messi scored 3 goals, only behind Darwin Núñez (5 goals) in the ranking of top scorers.
In addition to Messi, coach Scaloni also called up many big names in attack such as Paulo Dybala, Lautaro Martínez or Julián Álvarez. In addition, there are pillars in other positions such as Cristian Romero, Nicolás Otamendi, Lisandro Martínez, Nicolás Tagliafico, Leandro Paredes, Alexis Mac Allister, Rodrigo De Paul, Nicolás González, Enzo Fernández or Alejandro Garnacho.
Due to a FIFA suspension, goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez did not participate in this match for the Argentine national team. The most notable new addition called up by coach Scaloni is young midfielder Nico Paz. The 20-year-old talent who plays for Como is ready to debut with the Albiceleste.
According to the schedule, in this October meeting, Argentina will play two qualifying matches for the 2026 World Cup in South America with Venezuela (October 10) and Bolivia (October 15).
