Lionel Scaloni named Lionel Messi in a 26 set for the captain's record sixth World Cup, retaining 17 of the Qatar 2022 winners. Teenager Franco Mastantuono is the shock omission. Messi sat out the 2-0 friendly win over Honduras as he manages a hamstring, with Iceland to follow.
Continuity is the message. The world champions kept the spine that lifted the trophy in Qatar; Scaloni resisted the temptation to blood Mastantuono, the most eye-catching of the near-misses, in favour of proven tournament nerve.
Messi's body is the sub-plot. He watched the Honduras win from the bench while completing rehab, and Scaloni played down the early scare as less serious than first feared. The plan is simple, and unspoken: get the captain to 11 June intact. Argentina's emotional farewell on home soil — the Bombonera goodbye — already happened in March; North America is the encore.
A defending champion built around a 38-year-old's hamstring. Argentina's title defence is a race against the calendar.
What that final act means is our Press Box piece; for fantasy, Julián Álvarez is the value hedge every squad should hold against Messi's fitness.
Sources: DAZN · beIN Sports.