Lionel Messi Leads Argentina World Cup Qualifiers Squad After Return From Injury

Lionel Messi has been named in a strong Argentina squad for next month's World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela and Ecuador, having returned from injury on Saturday.

Messi injured a muscle in his right leg during Inter Miami's Leagues Cup match against Necaxa on August 2, which caused him to miss a win over Pumas UNAM in that same competition and a 4-1 defeat to Florida rivals Orlando City in MLS.

The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner returned as a substitute on Saturday and had an immediate impact, scoring and assisting as Miami beat the LA Galaxy 3-1.

Having had limited minutes in June's fixtures against Chile and Colombia, Messi headlines a 31-man squad for the Albiceleste's final two World Cup qualifiers. 

The reigning champions sealed qualification for the 2026 tournament in March and are already guaranteed to top the 10-team CONMEBOL qualification group.

Against that backdrop, Lionel Scaloni has also chosen to call up a series of young players, including Real Madrid's Franco Mastantuono, Manchester City's Claudio Echeverri and Como's breakout star Nico Paz.

The biggest name to be omitted from the squad is Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez, who must serve a two-match ban after being sent off in June's 1-1 draw with Colombia.

Alejandro Garnacho is also absent as he continues to train away from Manchester United's first-team squad, amid reports linking him with Chelsea.

Argentina squad: Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Geronimo Rulli (Marseille), Walter Benitez (Crystal Palace); Cristian Romero (Tottenham), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid), Gonzalo Montiel (River Plate), Leonardo Balerdi (Marseille), Juan Foyth (Villarreal), Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon), Marcos Acuna (River Plate), Julio Soler (Bournemouth), Facundo Medina (Marseille); Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Alan Varela (Porto), Leandro Paredes (Boca Juniors), Thiago Almada (Atletico Madrid), Nico Paz (Como), Rodrigo De Paul (Inter Miami), Giovani Lo Celso (Real Betis), Claudio Echeverri (Manchester City), Franco Mastantuono (Real Madrid), Valentin Carboni (Genoa); Giuliano Simeone (Atletico Madrid), Angel Correa (Tigres), Julian Alvarez (Atletico Madrid), Nicolas Gonzalez (Juventus), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Lautaro Martinez (Inter), Jose Manuel Lopez (Palmeiras).