Lionel Messi has been omitted from Argentina‘s squad list for the upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Brazil.
Argentina are sitting top of the South American section of World Cup qualifying after winning eight, drawing one and losing three of their 12 matches.
They are set to continue their qualifying bid when they travel to Montevideo to face Uruguay at the Estadio Centenario on Friday.
Lionel Scaloni‘s side will then return home for next Tuesday’s meeting with rivals Brazil at the Estadio Mas Monumental in Buenos Aires.
Unfortunately for Argentina, they will go into those two tricky fixtures without the services of their all-time record goalscorer.
Messi set to miss Uruguay, Brazil fixtures
Messi was included in Scaloni’s preliminary squad, but he was a glaring omission when the final list came out on Monday.
As per Fabrizio Romano, Messi has been left out of the 26-man squad after a scan revealed that he has sustained an adductor injury.
The 37-year-old underwent the scan the morning after Inter Miami‘s 2-1 victory against Atlanta United at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Messi found the net in the 20th minute to cancel out Emmanuel Latte Lath‘s opener, before Fafa Picault scored a late winner to snatch all three points.
Messi only returned to action for last Thursday’s CONCACAF Champions Cup clash against Cavalier after he had sat out three consecutive games due to load management.
Dybala, Garnacho among notable omissions
In addition to Messi, Argentina had to omit River Plate defender Gonzalo Montiel, Real Betis midfielder Giovani Lo Celso and Roma attacker Paulo Dybala due to injury.
Scaloni also made the decision to cut Manchester City’s Claudio Echeverri and Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho from his final squad.
There are four Premier League players in Scaloni’s 26-man party, including Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez, Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez and Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister.
Tottenham Hotspur defender Cristian Romero is also on the list despite only returning from an injury layoff earlier this month.
Argentina’s squad in full
Goalkeepers: Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Gerónimo Rulli (Marseille), Walter Benitez (PSV Eindhoven)
Defenders: Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid), Juan Foyth (Villarreal), Cristian Romero (Tottenham Hotspur), German Pezzella (River Plate), Leonardo Balerdi (Marseille), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Facundo Medina (Lens), Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon)
Midfielders: Leandro Paredes (Roma), Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea), Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool), Maximo Perrone (Como)
Forwards: Giuliano Simeone (Atletico Madrid), Benjamin Domínguez (Bologna), Thiago Almada (Lyon), Nicolas Gonzalez (Juventus), Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid), Nico Paz (Como), Julian Alvarez (Atletico Madrid), Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan), Santiago Castro (Bologna)
