Lionel Messi rejoins Argentina for two World Cup qualifiers before Club World Cup
Lionel Messi rejoins Argentina for two World Cup qualifiers before Club World Cup
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'You get to play with the greatest player in the world' - Picault explains what makes Inter Miami special
Fafa Picault says Messi is 'the greatest player in the world' and working with him makes Inter Miami unique
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Lionel Messi will wear his Argentina shirt again for two matches with his beloved national team in the next 10 days, before leading Inter Miami in the FIFA Club World Cup.
Messi arrived in Argentina on Monday morning to rejoin the defending World Cup champions for qualifying matches for the 2026 tournament.
"¡Buenos días, capitán!" or "good morning, captain" was the caption on a photo of Messi arriving to Argentina's headquarters.
Argentina will visit Chile on June 5 at 9 p.m. ET at Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos in Santiago, Chile. Then, Argentina will host Colombia – a battle between the 2024 Copa America finalists – on June 10 at 8 p.m. ET inside Mâs Monumental in Buenos Aires.
Both matches fall during a FIFA international break between the MLS season and before the Club World Cup.
Messi is coming off one of his best stretches during the 2025 MLS season, scoring five goals in his last three matches, helping Inter Miami improve from sixth to third place in the MLS Eastern Conference.
Messi has traditionally played with the national team when healthy as a member of Inter Miami – including two matches before the MLS Cup playoffs last season. These two matches could be no different despite the timing.
Messi and Inter Miami will star in the Club World Cup opening match on June 14 against Egyptian club Al Alhy at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. They will also play against FC Porto (Portugal) in Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium on June 19, and return to Miami for their final group stage match against SE Palmeiras (Brazil) on June 23.
Playing with Argentina before the MLS Cup playoffs last year, Messi was scoreless in a 1-1 draw against Venezuela on Oct. 11, 2024, then exploded with a hat trick and two assists in a 6-0 victory over Bolivia on Oct. 15, 2024.
Messi last played with the national team in November: He was scoreless as Argentina lost 2-1 to Paraguay on Nov. 14, 2024, and had the assist to Lautaro Martinez in a 1-0 win over Peru on Nov. 19, 2024.
Messi was unable to play with Argentina in matches against Uruguay and Brazil this March, while he was recovering from an adductor strain. Argentina beat Uruguay 1-0 on March 21, and beat Brazil 4-1 on March 25.
Argentina has two more World Cup qualifiers later this year: They will host Venezuela on Sept. 9, and visit Ecuador on Sept. 14.
Messi has yet to declare whether he will play for Argentina for World Cup 2026, hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
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