Lionel Messi will suit up and start in Tuesday’s home friendly against Zambia, Argentina national team manager Lionel Scaloni confirmed Monday.
“Yes, I think he’ll start from the beginning tomorrow,” Scaloni told reporters.
In Friday’s 2-1 home victory over Mauritania in a friendly, Messi came on as a halftime substitute.
The matches against Mauritania and Zambia will be used to determine Argentina’s 26-player roster for the FIFA World Cup this summer, Scaloni said.
“The list of 26 players (for the World Cup), I think we’re above the percentage,” he said. “We have to start discarding options now based on performance. There is no other option.”
Argentina, the reigning World Cup champions, had a tougher time than many expected against Mauritania, which is No. 115 in the FIFA rankings and has never qualified for the World Cup.
“The game the other night could’ve been an alert,” Scaloni said. “It’s things that as a head coach one starts looking at and later, we will decide.”
Messi has yet to decide whether he will participate in the World Cup, but Scaloni is hopeful the worldwide superstar will opt to play.
“The important thing is that he comes and enjoys it,” Scaloni said. “That he enjoy being at the World Cup, which in theory would be the last, but I wouldn’t dare to say anything, but that he enjoys it.
“I think it’s not just Argentines who want to see him, everyone wants to see him. They want to see him train, see him play, and that is what we all wish for.”
Seeking its fourth World Cup championship, Argentina will play its first World Cup game June 16 against Algeria in Group J in Kansas City. Austria is up next on June 22, followed by Jordan on June 27.
–Field Level Media
