Lionel Messi to return for Argentina’s final pre-World Cup friendly against Iceland, confirms Lionel Scaloni

Lionel Messi has been sidelined from the Argentina national team due to a recent muscle strain brought on by lingering fatigue during his final stretch with Inter Miami. However, with only one tune-up match remaining before the reigning champions launch their 2026 World Cup campaign, head coach Lionel Scaloni confirmed that Messi will see the pitch against Iceland.

When asked during his pre-match press conference whether Messi would start, Scaloni was direct about the superstar’s availability: “He is going to play; what I don’t know is how many minutes. I still have to speak with him, we still have today’s training session. We will see how many minutes to avoid taking any kind of risk, and we will decide then. But in principle, yes, he will get minutes.“

The appearance will mark Messi’s first time on the pitch since the MLS match against the Philadelphia Union where he got injured back on May 24 , setting up a reunion with Iceland in an Argentina shirt. Their last encounter holds unfortunate memories for the South Americans, as Iceland secured a shocking 1-1 draw during the group stage opener of the 2018 World Cup, a match defined by Messi’s penalty miss.

As for the rest of the starting XI, Scaloni noted that Argentina‘s lineup will be finalized after today’s training session, pending how the squad responds physically. Confirming he will rotate the squad heavily compared to the lineup that faced Honduras, the Argentina boss admitted, “We are going to make changes because we need to manage workloads, avoid setbacks, and immediately shift our focus to the opening match against Algeria.“

The matchup against Iceland at Jordan-Hare Stadium marks Argentina’s final dress rehearsal before La Albiceleste begins its title defense on June 16 against Algeria. After sitting on the bench during Saturday’s clash against Honduras, Messi is set to get some much-needed game action under his belt before the World Cup kicks off in North America.

Argentina recovers more key pieces

Though his issue was relatively minor, Messi headlined an extensive list of players on the World Cup roster who arrived in North America nursing physical discomforts. Within that group, the most concerning names forced to train away from the squad on individualized recovery programs included right-back duo Nahuel Molina and Gonzalo Montiel, midfielders Nico Paz and Leandro Paredes, and forward Julián Alvarez.

Asked about the status of Molina, Montiel, and Paz, Scaloni delivered a highly encouraging update regarding their potential availability for the Iceland match: “In principle, all three are available for the match, we will see about the decision on how many minutes. At right-back we have plenty of options and we can distribute the minutes. As for the team, we are going to decide after the training session.“

Meanwhile, Alvarez’s ankle sprain and Paredes’ muscle tear represented two of the team’s biggest injury scares heading into the tournament. However, Scaloni downplayed any long-term concern surrounding either player. “Juli (Alvarez) is fine, it’s more a matter of him recovering 100%, it’s a discomfort he has in his ankle. Leandro (Paredes) will surely be able to rejoin the group in a few days. It was muscular and may take a little longer,” Argentina’s boss concluded.