Messi Ruled Out of Argentina's World Cup Qualifiers Against Uruguay & Brazil

Lionel Messi will not take part in Argentina's upcoming World Cup qualifying matches against Uruguay and Brazil. The absence of Messi creates a major challenge for the reigning champions in their World Cup qualification campaign for the 2026 competition. The 37-year-old Inter Miami forward reported a "low-grade" adductor muscle injury while playing against Atlanta United in their 2-1 victory according to club confirmation. The Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni chose not to select Messi in their recently announced 25-man squad for two upcoming crucial matches.

Argentina leads South American qualifying with 25 points through its 12 matches and plans to travel to Montevideo to meet Uruguay who ranks second on Friday. A win at the Centenario Stadium would formally qualify Argentina for the upcoming 2026 World Cup joint tournament taking place between the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Argentina plays host to Brazil four days after this match in Buenos Aires while still facing the absence of both Messi and Neymar due to injury. The Argentine Football Association said nothing about Messi's absence but Inter Miami released a statement that detailed the extent of his medical condition revealing his return depends on his treatment outcomes.

The squad led by Scaloni operates without Paulo Dybala, Gonzalo Montiel, and Giovani Lo Celso while Claudio Echeverri and Alejandro Garnacho remained off their preliminary member selection. The team's focus now enters a different era as they have primarily depended on Messi's superb skills which resulted in six goals throughout the qualifiers until now. Scaloni could adopt a direct attacking strategy to compensate for Messi's absence since previous matches required this style but finding someone to match Messi's goal-scoring abilities poses a challenge.

Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano manages Messi cautiously throughout this season because he puts the player's fitness needs above the team's packed competition agenda. Argentina fans hope for a quick return of their star captain who currently holds the national record for most goals scored (112) in 191 matches.