Due to injury, Inter Miami striker Lionel Messi was not called up by coach Lionel Scaloni to the Argentina national team to participate in the upcoming two matches in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Messi is having problems with his ankle.

Messi has not played for Inter Miami since he suffered an ankle injury in Argentina’s 1-0 win over Colombia in the 2024 Copa America final in mid-month. The former Barca striker was repeatedly fouled by opposition players in that match, forcing him to stop playing after the 66th minute.

When leaving the field to make way for Nicolas Gonzalez, Messi angrily threw his shoes and even burst into tears because he understood that the problem he was facing was not simple. At that time, the camera also recorded the scene of his ankle being deformed due to excessive swelling.

The image of Messi attracted so much attention that a designer even took the opportunity to produce key chains with the Argentine superstar’s swollen ankle to launch on the market. This bold and unique idea helped him earn a lot of profit.

Returning to the Argentina national team, according to the schedule, coach Scaloni’s team will face Chile and Colombia on September 6 and 11 respectively. In the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in South America, Argentina is leading the rankings with 15 points after the first 6 matches (5 wins, 1 loss).

With Messi unable to play due to injury, coach Scaloni called up striker Paulo Dybala to replace him. This is a special event for Dybala, because the Roma striker has played 38 times for the national team but has not played for Argentina since March last year.