Published June 7, 2026
Lionel Messi missed Argentina’s friendly against Honduras as he continues to deal with muscle fatigue and a mild strain in his left hamstring ahead of the upcoming World Cup.
Messi, who turns 39 in three weeks, was active after warming up with his teammates at Kyle Field on the Texas A&M campus before Saturday night’s game. However, he remained on the bench and watched from the sideline as Argentina won 2-0.
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The team said Messi’s recovery time would depend on “his clinical and functional progress”.
Messi was diagnosed with muscle strain in his left hamstring by his Major League Soccer (MLS) club Inter Miami late last month after he was abruptly sent off in the 73rd minute of Miami’s 6-4 win over Philadelphia.
Argentina will play Iceland on Tuesday in Auburn, Alabama, making final World Cup preparations before resuming training in Kansas City. Albiceleste will begin their World Cup title defense against Algeria at Arrowhead Stadium on June 16th.
During Wednesday’s practice in Kansas City, Messi followed the rest of the team onto the practice field and did some conditioning work on the side.
Messi, who is widely expected to retire from international football after the tournament, holds the record for most World Cup appearances (26 goals) and needs four more goals to surpass Germany’s Miroslav Klose’s World Cup record of 16 goals.
A few days before the World Cup, a big-name player wins a friendly match.
Meanwhile, multiple-time champions Brazil and Germany also won their preparatory matches, albeit by small margins, while former champions England and hopeful Portugal also secured victories.
A busy day of friendly matches saw big players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Vini Junior and Mohamed Salah in action.
Five-time champions Brazil beat Egypt 2-1 in Cleveland, with Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimarães scoring from inside the box early on and Lyon forward Endrick adding another in the second half with an assist from Barcelona’s Rafinha. Zico scored for Egypt, while Salah played in the first half and looked in good form.
There was some drama, including Wesley, the right-back for Brazil and AS Roma, leaving the field in tears after sustaining a serious injury to his left leg that would likely rule him out of the World Cup. Teams can change players up until the day before the first game.
England beat New Zealand 1-0 in Tampa thanks to a first-half header from Harry Kane, and there were also wins over Scotland and Belgium as the teams made fine-tuned preparations ahead of next week’s tournament kick-off.
Results were secondary to the process as England manager Thomas Tuchel rotated his entire squad at half-time, giving 22 players time in scorching 32-degree Celsius (89.6-degree Fahrenheit) heat.
But Kane’s superb finish, heading into the bottom corner from Jed Spence’s cross, was a timely reminder of the importance of captaincy as the team bids for a second title.
Four-time world champions Germany recorded their ninth consecutive win with a 2-1 victory over World Cup co-hosts the United States in Chicago.
Kai Havertz took the lead in the second minute when Joshua Kimmich’s free kick was headed in by Kai Havertz, but after a corner kick was headed in by defender Jonathan Tarr, the Americans snatched a stunning equalizer from Anthony Robinson’s volley.
However, Germany regained the lead in the 57th minute when Leroy Sane scored from 12 meters (39 feet).
Portugal beat Chile 2-1 in an awkward match in Oeiras, but both teams finished with 10 men as Rafael Leao and Iván Roman received their marching orders.
Gonzalo Guedes gave the home team the lead before Bruno Fernandes added another goal from outside the box. Lucas Cepeda scored the winning goal for Chile in the final minute of the game.
“We had the upper hand for 90 minutes, especially in the last third, we had a lot of the ball and were able to control the game very well,” Fernandes told RTP.
Striker Romelu Lukaku continued his comeback from injury, starting on the bench for 25 minutes for Belgium in the 5-0 win over Tunisia 10-a-side in Brussels.
Leandro Trossard, Charles de Quetelaere, Kevin De Bruyne, Dodi Lukabakio and Nicolas Raskin scored goals, while Lukaku provided an assist.
Belgium national team coach Rudi Garcia said, “We wanted to show a good performance in front of our fans.” “It’s good preparation for the World Cup. We know this team can do great things.”
A much-changed Scotland side won 4-0 against Bolivia in New Jersey, scoring all their goals in the first half.
Che Adams put in an impressive performance, scoring twice with strikes from Lawrence Shankland and Scott McTominay.
Switzerland and Australia drew 1-1, while Bosnia and Herzegovina were tied with Panama.
