The coach of the Argentinian national team, Lionel Scaloni, has included Lionel Messi in the preliminary list for the CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers matches against Venezuela and Ecuador, to be played on September 4th and 9th respectively.
The call-up, consisting of 31 players, presents a mix of experience and youth, including emerging talents like Franco Mastantuono, a recent signing for Real Madrid, and Claudio Echeverri, a player for Manchester City. Julio Soler, defender for AFC Bournemouth, and José Manuel “Flaco” López, a footballer for Palmeiras, are also included.
Highlights the return of Marcos Acuña, while Alejandro Garnacho, Manchester United forward, was not called up on this occasion.
Enzo Fernández, Chelsea midfielder, who was suspended for two matches after his expulsion against Colombia in June, will not be available. In his place, Alan Varela, FC Porto player, was selected.
Argentina, which became the first South American team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, currently leads the CONMEBOL qualifiers.
The Argentine team, world champion in Qatar 2022, secured its place in the tournament after defeating Brazil 4-1 in March, thanks to the combination of results in other matches.
The victory over Brazil also represented the first time Argentina has won both matches against Brazil in a World Cup qualifier. Likewise, it was the first home victory against the Brazilians since qualifying for the 2006 World Cup.
The match against Venezuela will be played at the Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires, while the match against Ecuador will be played in Guayaquil.
On the other hand, Messi, captain of Argentina, returned to action with Inter Miami on Saturday night, after recovering from a right leg muscle injury. In the match against LA Galaxy, Messi scored a goal and assisted Luis Suárez in his team’s 3-1 victory.
However, Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano warned that Messi, who occasionally touched his thigh, is not in top form.Argentina incluyó a Lionel Messi en su convocatoria para las eliminatorias de septiembre.Mascherano commented after the match: “Clearly I wasn’t 100% comfortable. Now, the reality is that as the minutes went by, I loosened up a bit more. We’ll see how it ended in terms of fatigue. The injury had been something very, very small, and well, the three practices we had were good.
“I repeat how important it was that the match ended. I was seeing him better as the minutes went by, but what you have to see is how he feels tomorrow, and go day by day.”
Messi, 38, has scored goals in his last four appearances coming off the bench for Inter Miami. His last participation with Argentina was in the 1-1 draw against Colombia and in the 1-0 victory over Chile in June. Previously, he missed the March qualifiers due to injury.
