Early tomorrow morning Vietnam time, the Argentina national team will meet the Chile national team in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers without Lionel Messi due to injury.

“I spoke privately with Messi before announcing the list of players called up for this training session. Messi’s injury is progressing well but he is not ready to return to play. Whether Messi will be ready for the next call-up or not depends on his performance for Inter Miami in the upcoming matches. I feel strange that the Argentina team in this call-up does not have either Messi or Di Maria. But anyway, this is an opportunity for other players to show themselves” – Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni shared.

Lionel Messi has not played a single minute since being injured in the 2024 Copa America final. Despite not having the 37-year-old star, Argentina is still rated higher than Chile in the upcoming match. In the last 7 meetings with this opponent, Argentina has an unbeaten record.