Argentina coach reveals Messi’s position on participating in the World Cup

Coach Lionel Scaloni said on Friday that Lionel Messi is recovering well from a muscle injury he recently suffered, and may be ready to participate in Argentina’s final preparatory matches before the start of the FIFA World Cup.

Messi (38 years old) was injured while participating with Inter Miami in an American Professional League match in which his team won 6-4 over the Philadelphia Union ten days ago, which raised concerns about his physical readiness as the World Cup approaches.

Argentina, the defending champion, is preparing to face Honduras in Texas on Saturday, before meeting Iceland in Alabama on Tuesday, in the last of two friendly matches before the tournament.

Scaloni said during a press conference in the United States, “Leo is in good condition, and he has already trained with the group during part of the session, and this is important. He is no longer training separately.”

He added, “He is improving significantly, and he may participate for a few minutes in one of the two (preparatory) matches. We will see if it is the next match or the next, but he is in a much better position, and this gives us reassurance.”

As Messi prepares to play the World Cup for the sixth time in his career, Scaloni also revealed a funny situation that took place between him and the national team captain when he was informed of his selection on the list.

He said with a smile, “I sent him a message, and he told me that he would wait for the list to be announced to see if he had been summoned. So I told him: You have been summoned. Simply.”

Messi, who is widely considered one of the greatest football players in history, led Argentina to win the World Cup title in Qatar in 2022.

The next edition of the World Cup is scheduled to be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada during the period from June 11 to July 19, with Argentina beginning its title defense campaign against Algeria on June 16, before meeting Austria and Jordan in the tenth group competitions.