Squad details correct up to and including Argentina's match against Switzerland on 11 July 2026.
Tallies taken from transfermrkt

Diary

Friday, 29 May 2026 - Lionel Messi will play in a sixth World Cup as he captains holders Argentina at the 2026 tournament. The forward, who will turn 39 during the tournament, was named in Lionel Scaloni's 26-man squad after leading his country to a third World Cup triumph in Qatar four years ago with a penalty shootout victory over France. With 26 appearances, Messi holds the current record for the most World Cup matches by any player - and will join Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, as the only male players to appear in a sixth edition of football's biggest event this summer. Aston Villa's Emiliano Martinez, who was named the goalkeeper of the tournament in 2022, has been selected, as have Manchester United's Lisandro Martinez and Tottenham's Cristian Romero, who missed the end of the Premier League season with a knee injury. Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister and Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez are also among the five British-based players in the squad for the finals, which will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Atletico Madrid's Julian Alvarez and Inter's Lautaro Martinez are among 17 players who lifted the trophy in 2022 returning to bid to retain it.

Wednesday, 17 June 2026 - Argentina 3 Algeria 0 - Lionel Messi became the World Cup's joint-top all-time scorer with a hat-trick as reigning champions Argentina began their defence with a statement victory over Algeria. Making his 200th appearance for his country, Messi scored his first treble at a World Cup. And it created a piece of history, as he took his World Cup finals goal tally to 16 - moving him level with Germany's Miroslav Klose as the all-time leading scorer in the competition's history. The three-time world champions were made to work for victory at the Kansas City Stadium as they aim to become only the third nation to successfully defend the World Cup. It was the first time Argentina had won their opening match at a World Cup as defending champions, having suffered defeats in 1982 and 1990. That was down to the brilliance of Messi, who curled home a wonderful opener in the 17th minute. The 38-year-old collected the ball from Inter Miami team-mate Rodrigo De Paul before bending a strike past Luca Zidane on his 27th World Cup appearance. His goal arrived 12 minutes after an earlier effort had been disallowed during a breathless start, with Algeria also having a strike ruled out three minutes later as the game burst into life right from the off. But on a night when he became the first player to appear in six World Cups, Messi was lucky to escape punishment for reckless challenge on Algeria's Aissa Mandi midway through the first half. Argentina's second came from close range on the hour mark when Messi pounced on a mistake from Zidane, before he sealed a first World Cup treble in the 76th minute when he arrowed home a thunderous strike from the edge of the area after taking the ball from Nicolas Gonzalez.

Saturday, 20 June 2026 - An Argentine television presenter has resigned after falsely reporting that the father of Lionel Messi had died during Argentina's first World Cup game. Florencia Pena made the claim during a live broadcast on Argentine streaming channel Luzu TV following Argentina's opening group game win over Algeria. "I don't want to bring bad news, but Messi's father has just passed away. It was sudden. In the middle of the World Cup," Pena said while hosting the show. The report quickly spread on social media before Pena clarified that the information had not been confirmed. The Messi family later issued a statement confirming that the player's father, Jorge Messi, is receiving medical treatment for an undisclosed health condition. The statement said the 68-year-old is under medical supervision and recovering, while criticising speculation surrounding his health and calling for privacy during a difficult period. Pena apologised publicly and said the information had been passed to her during the programme as if it was verified news. "I apologise to the Messi family," she said in a statement. "I am deeply ashamed to have been involved in this mistake." The 51-year-old television personality and actress now says she was given unverified information. "I have to clarify that this false information was given to me live on air as if it had been checked by the show's production team, and I trusted it. Even so, I take responsibility for being part of the mistake and that is why I decided to step aside and end my participation in Luzu. I apologise again from the heart; I was wrong."

Monday, 22 June 2026 - Argentina 2 Austria 0 - Lionel Messi became the World Cup's all-time record goalscorer as his double against Austria sent holders Argentina into the last 32. The forward, who turns 39 on Wednesday, got his 17th and 18th goals at tournaments to move two clear of Germany striker Miroslav Klose, whose tally came between 2002 and 2014. Messi's milestone moment came in the 38th minute of the Group J encounter in Dallas, sweeping home a first-time finish from just inside the penalty area after Thiago Almada had cleverly let Facundo Medina's pull-back go through his legs to tee up his team-mate. The talismanic frontman's second came in second-half stoppage time as he fired home from a tight angle past two Austrian defenders after Julian Alvarez had been denied by keeper Alexander Schlager. However, Messi could have broken the record earlier in the match. After only eight minutes, Argentina were awarded a penalty following Stefan Posch's foul on Lautaro Martinez, with Austria defender Xaver Schlager also making a challenge, but Messi fired the spot-kick wide. That disappointment soon turned to celebration, though, in another display of his class on a historic night. He is now the top scorer in the 2026 competition, with five goals in two matches following a hat-trick in the 3-0 win over Algeria in their opening group game. Before Messi's second, Austria - managed by former Manchester United boss Ralf Rangnick - had a chance to make it 1-1. But Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez pushed away a powerful free-kick from Marcel Sabitzer, who was making his 100th international appearance.

Saturday, 27 June 2026 - Lionel Messi will start Argentina's final group match against Jordan on the bench, manager Lionel Scaloni has confirmed. Messi, 39, leads the Golden Boot standings with five goals from his first two matches. Scaloni said the decision to rest the superstar was not injury related as he spoke before the match in Dallas on Sunday. "Leo will most likely come on in the second half. We talked and agreed that it was better that way, but obviously it's also good for him to stay in competitive form. The decision of who plays tomorrow is not related to who plays in the next match. Jordan is a good opponent, and our intention will be to have the ball and dominate through possession. The opponent's forwards are fast and we will have to take that into account."

Sunday, 28 June 2026 - Lionel Messi came off the bench to score and break yet another record as Argentina maintained their perfect start to the World Cup with a comfortable victory over Jordan in Dallas. Having been left on the bench, with Argentina having already won Group J, Messi was brought on in the 60th minute to the loudest cheer of the night. That was until he curled a low free-kick around the wall to extend Argentina's lead with 10 minutes to go. The goal was Messi's sixth of the tournament already - putting him two clear of his nearest challengers in the race for the golden boot - and a record-extending 19th World Cup goal. It also meant the former Barcelona forward became the first man to score in seven consecutive World Cup games. Earlier,  midfielder Giovani lo Celso had opened the scoring for a much-changed Argentina team as he whipped a superb free-kick into the top corner. Striker Lautaro Martinez doubled the lead with an emphatic penalty thumped into the bottom corner, after the referee had been sent to the monitor to see Marcos Senesi had been inadvertently kicked in the head as he dived to head the ball at goal. While Argentina were in control, Jordan continued to fight and halved the deficit with a brilliantly worked goal 10 minutes into the second half. Having started the move, substitute Mousa Al Tamari was there to convert Ehsan Haddad's excellent ball across the face of goal. The stadium erupted a couple of minutes later when Messi was introduced for the last half hour. There was a buzz of excitement every time he got on the ball in the final third and he gave the fans at Dallas Stadium the moment they so craved with another record-breaking goal.

Friday, 3 July 2026 - Argentina 3 Cape Verde 2 - A 111th-minute Diney Borges own goal saved holders Argentina from one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history as they scraped past heroic debutants Cape Verde in the last 32. The team lying 64th in the Fifa rankings twice came back to equalise against opponents who are second in the world. With the score locked at 1-1 after 90 minutes, the outsiders forced their illustrious opponents into extra time. Lisandro Martinez then thought he had won it for Argentina with a superb finish in the 92nd minute. But Sidny Lopes Cabral produced one of the World Cup's great goals 11 minutes later when he cut inside to the left of the box and whipped a curling strike over goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and into the top corner to make it 2-2. Enjoying the night of his career, Cabral then forced a stunning save from Martinez four minutes from the end of extra time - but they could not draw level for a third time to force penalties. It was a party atmosphere early in Miami - with thousands of expectant Argentines cheering on their team. And they had looked to be easing their way to victory when Lionel Messi produced another moment of magic in the 29th minute. The Argentina captain scored his 20th World Cup goal as he beautifully controlled defender Martinez's long ball before finishing high into the net. But the smallest nation to play in a World Cup knockout match were not about to leave the tournament quietly. And Deroy Duarte's second-half finish pulled Cape Verde level - as he made the run into the box and powered a finish through the legs of Manchester United defender Martinez and beyond the goalkeeper from a tight angle as a number of Cape Verde fans cried tears of joy. Two minutes into extra time in Miami, defender Martinez latched on to Alexis Mac Allister's flick from a corner and produced a powerful finish to beat goalkeeper Vozinha. Then came Cabral's world-class equaliser for Cape Verde. And although it was not to be for them in the end, they certainly left their mark on the World Cup.

Tuesday, 7 July 2026 - Argentina 3 Egypt 2 - Argentina were given another almighty scare before delivering a scarcely believable second-half comeback to break Egypt hearts and reach the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup. The reigning world champions - sent to extra time by Cape Verde in the last round - had looked set for a shock exit against the Pharaohs, who led 2-0 thanks to goals from Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Zico. But Cristian Romero halved the deficit 11 minutes from time before Lionel Messi – who had missed a first-half penalty – equalised five minutes later and set up a nail-biting finish. Enzo Fernandez completed the comeback two minutes into injury time, heading home Lautaro Martinez's cross to set up a quarter-final tie against Switzerland. The winner came on the counter-attack just moments after Egypt felt they had been denied a penalty for a trip on Mohamed Salah, to the fury of many on their bench. It was impossible not to feel for Egypt, who had not won a World Cup match prior to this tournament but were minutes away from eliminating the three-time winners in Atlanta.

Wednesday, 8 July 2026 - The Egyptian Football Association says it has asked FIFA to kick the officials in charge of their World Cup last-16 defeat by Argentina out of the tournament. The EFA said it had lodged a complaint with football's world governing body and wants an investigation into "double standards" of officiating in the game in Atlanta. With Egypt leading 1-0 in the second half, the video assistant referee ruled out a goal by Mostafa Zico after Egypt midfielder Marwan Attia was penalised for stepping on Lisandro Martinez's foot at the start of the move. Egypt also thought Mohamed Salah was fouled in the Argentina penalty area, seconds before the reigning champions broke for the stoppage-time winner in a 3-2 victory. An EFA statement read: "Hany Abou Rida, president of the Egyptian football federation, filed a complaint with Fifa, demanding an investigation into the French referee Francois Letexier after the serious refereeing mistakes committed by the team of referees and double standards, which caused the Egypt team to lose the match and leave the World Cup." The EFA has called for an investigation of the team of referees and video technology referees after what it said were "blatant errors and insisting on not reviewing some of the footage". It "demanded the exclusion of the referee and the entire crew from the World Cup after investigating these mistakes" and alleged "the crime of discrimination against the Egyptian national team".

Friday, 10 July 2026 - Argentina's football association has indicated it may have been the target of a cyber attack after emails from its official accounts reportedly criticised refereeing in the national team's 3-2 win against Egypt at the World Cup. Argentine news outlet La Calle, external reported emails sent from the Argentine Football Association's (AFA) account to journalists after the match stated "Argentina did not win" and the result was a result of "corrupt refereeing decisions". The publication said that AFA sources indicated a group of Egyptian-origin hackers were behind the emails, which also praised Egypt's performance. Responding to the incident, an AFA statement read: "We want to inform you that we have detected the possible sending of emails from one of our institutional accounts that were not generated or authorised by our team." It asked the public to "dismiss any message that you have recently received from our account and that is unusual, especially if it contains links, attachments or requests personal information. There is a possibility that our account has been subject to unauthorised access, so we are working to clarify what happened and adopt the necessary security measures."

Saturday, 11 July 2026 - Antonio Rattin, one of Argentina's greatest midfielders - and the man who brought about the introduction of red and yellow cards in football - has died aged 89, his former club Boca Juniors have announced. Rattin played at the 1962 and 1966 World Cups, but it was his controversial dismissal at the latter tournament which led to an overhaul. He spent his entire career with Buenos Aires club Boca Juniors, who said: "With great sorrow, we mourn the passing of Antonio Ubaldo Rattin, an idol and symbol of our institution. "We stand with his family and loved ones at this difficult time. Farewell, Rata." He made 382 appearances for Boca between 1956 and 1970, scoring 28 goals and winning four league titles, and reaching the 1963 Copa Libertadores final. He represented Argentina from 1959 to 1969 and it was his sending-off in a 1-0 quarter-final loss to England that many outside his country would remember him for. He refused to leave the pitch after being dismissed, saying he did not understand German referee Rudolf Kreitlein, who did not speak Spanish. On his way off, Rattin crumpled an England corner flag and sat on a red carpet reserved for Queen Elizabeth II in protest against the decision. "When I got to the corner, I twisted the English flag and insulted them. Then I went over to the carpet the Queen used to enter the stadium and sat there for about five minutes. It was a very nice red carpet," Rattin said years later. Fifa introduced the yellow and red card system at the next World Cup in 1970 to avoid communication problems between referees and players from different countries.

Sunday, 12 July 2026 - Argentina 3 Switzerland 1 - Argentina will face England in the semi-finals of the 2026 World Cup after a dramatic victory over Switzerland in sweltering Kansas City. Julian Alvarez settled a controversial match in extra time with a moment of brilliance, curling an unstoppable 25-yard effort past Swiss keeper Gregor Kobel to set up the meeting with England. It was heartbreak for Switzerland, who had defended valiantly after being reduced to 10 men during the second half in dramatic circumstances. Star striker Breel Embolo was dramatically given a second yellow card for diving following a video assistant referee review. Embolo initially appeared to be fouled near the half-way line by Leandro Paredes, who was booked. However the referee was called by VAR to check under the mistaken identity rule, with the replay showing the Swiss player had clearly simulated contact. The Paredes booking was quashed and Embolo, who had already been booked, was sent off to his distress and Swiss outrage. Just five minutes before Embolo was dismissed, Switzerland had deservedly equalised having been the better team for much of this game against the reigning world champions. Argentina may have anticipated a cruise to the last four when Alexis Mac Allister flicked home Lionel Messi's corner at the near post with just 10 minutes gone. But they failed to press their advantage and Switzerland built into the game before Nottingham Forest winger Dan Ndoye struck after 67 minutes. Ndoye cut in from the left, played a one-two with Ricardo Rodriguez and tucked his finish through the legs of Emiliano Martinez. But Argentina assumed dominance after the Embolo red, and after long periods of struggle were blessed by Alvarez's moment of genius. Switzerland pushed for a second leveller, but they were caught on the counter and Lautaro Martinez slotted home as Argentina kept their bid for back to back World Cups alive.

Argentina Form: last six games
W W W W W W  f 17:a 6  success: 100%
1103	16 June 2026 - Argentina 3 Algeria 0 [1-0] Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City	Messi (3)	WCF	NW
1104	22 June 2026 - Argentina 2 Austria 0 [1-0] AT&T Stadium, Arlington	Messi (2)		NW
1105	27 June 2026 - Jordan 1 Argentina 3 [0-2] AT&T Stadium, Arlington	Al-Taamari Lo Celso, Lt.Martínez (pen), Messi		NW
1106	3 July 2026 - Argentina 3 Cape Verde 2 [1-0]ᴭᵀ Hard Rock Cafe, Miami Gardens	Messi, Ls.Martínez, Diney OG Duarte, Cabrel		NW
1107	7 July 2026 - Argentina 3 Egypt 2 [0-1] Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta	Romero, Messi, Fernández Ibrahim, Ziko		NW
1108	11 July 2026 - Argentina 3 Switzerland 1 [1-0]ᴭᵀ Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City	Mac Allister, Alvarez, Lt.Martínez Ndoye		NW
		Breel Embolo

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CG