Lionel Messi will not be part of the Argentina squad that will take on Chile in the FIFA World Cup 2026 CONMEBOL qualifiers on Friday at the Estadio Mâs Monumental in Buenos Aires.
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The 37-year-old was not named in the 28-man squad that was announced by head coach Lionel Scaloni last month, for the qualifying matches against Chile and and Colombia.
Messi has not featured for club and country since he suffered a high-ankle injury on July 14 while playing for Argentina in its 1-0 win against Colombia in the Copa America final.
He is currently recovering at his Major League Soccer club Inter Miami and has returned to practice in a limited capacity. Inter Miami coach Tata Martino told The Athletic that despite coming back to training, Messi still does not have the medical clearance to play.
Martino said that there’s no change to the timetable that Messi will return to action sometime before the end of Inter Miami’s regular season on October 19 vs. the New England Revolution.
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Argentina is currently top of the qualifying table standings with 15 points after winning five of the six matches it has played so far. Chile on the other hand are struggling in the eighth position with just one win in its six games (two draws and three losses).
The top six teams from the group after all the qualifying matches will gain direct qualification to the World Cup finals to be held in USA, Mexico and Canada, while the seventh placed team will compete in the inter-confederation play-off.
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