Argentina Coach Provides Update on Lionel Messi’s Injury Ahead of World Cup

Argentina’s head coach, Lionel Scaloni, expressed optimism regarding Lionel Messi’s availability for the national team’s warm-up matches ahead of the 2026 World Cup. This comes after concerns over a recent injury.

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner is set to participate in his sixth World Cup Finals with Argentina, the reigning champions, and has been in impressive form at club level this season.

Messi has contributed to 20 goals in just 15 appearances for Inter Miami across all competitions but sustained a muscular injury during a thrilling 6-4 victory over Philadelphia Union on May 25.

Although he was substituted in the 73rd minute of that match, there were initially no significant worries about his fitness. He was subsequently included in Argentina’s World Cup squad as anticipated.

Argentina Receives Injury Boost Ahead of World Cup

© Imago / Icon Sportswire.

In a press conference before Argentina’s friendly against Honduras, Scaloni revealed that Messi had been training well and could potentially feature in the upcoming match, likely as a substitute.

“Leo is doing well; he has already participated in part of the training session with the group, which is significant. He is no longer training separately,” Scaloni stated. “He is improving a lot and might even play some minutes in one of the warm-up matches. We’ll see if it’s this one or the next, but he’s feeling much better, which gives us peace of mind.”.

If Messi plays on Sunday, it will mark his 199th cap for the Argentine national team, where he has scored 116 goals and provided 64 assists since his debut in 2005.

Messi Closing In on All-Time International Appearances Record

© Imago / Photogamma.

With 198 appearances for Argentina so far, Messi ranks third among all-time male players for international caps and is poised to ascend to second place during the World Cup.

The forward is just four caps shy of equaling Bader Al-Mutawa’s record of 202 appearances for Kuwait from 2003 to 2022, making Al-Mutawa the first player to reach a double-century in men’s football.

However, Messi trails Cristiano Ronaldo by 28 caps; Ronaldo currently holds an impressive tally of 226 appearances for Portugal. As Ronaldo prepares to compete at the age of 41 in the upcoming World Cup, it remains conceivable that Messi could still be competing at the same age during the Copa America in 2028, keeping his chances alive to challenge for that record.

Despite this potential achievement, Messi’s total will still fall short of the all-time record across both men’s and women’s football held by Kristine Lilly, who made an astonishing 354 appearances for the USA between 1987 and 2010.