Lionel Messi and his new Inter Miami teammate Rodrigo De Paul have been called up by the Argentine national team for their final two World Cup qualifying matches in early September.
Argentina, the defending World Cup champions, has already qualified for the 2026 World Cup to be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Messi, 38, has not yet declared he will play in the World Cup. But his upcoming reunion with the national team could be noteworthy.
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Argentina will host Venezuela on Sept. 4 at Mâs Monumental in Buenos Aires, which could be Messi’s last match in his beloved home country for the foreseeable future. Argentina will visit Ecuador on Sept. 9.
It’s unclear whether Argentina will host any matches next year in the leadup to the World Cup, held June 11, 2026 to July 19, 2026. Messi will turn 39 years old on June 24, 2026.
Messi has been eager to return from a recent right hamstring injury. He scored a goal with an assist in Inter Miami’s last match against L.A. Galaxy, a 3-1 win on Aug. 16, but was seen stretching his hamstring at multiple points in his appearance off the bench in the second half.
“He clearly wasn’t 100% comfortable,” Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano said of Messi after the match. “Now, the reality is that as the minutes went by, he loosened up a little bit more. We’ll have to see how he ended up in terms of fatigue.”
Messi and De Paul, who joined Inter Miami last month, were listed on a preliminary roster by Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni on Monday, Aug. 18. The Inter Miami teammates have at least three matches to play before they rejoin the national team.
Inter Miami will host Tigres on Aug. 20 in the Leagues Cup quarterfinals. Inter Miami also has two regular season matches: at D.C. United on Aug. 23, and home against the Chicago Fire on Aug. 30.
If Inter Miami advances in the Leagues Cup, the semifinals would be played on Aug. 26 or 27, while the final and third-place matches are set for Aug. 31.
Messi was scoreless with Argentina in two matches earlier this year: He came off the bench in a 1-0 road win against Chile on June 5, and played 78 minutes in a 1-1 draw against Colombia on June 10.
The last time Messi scored with Argentina, he had a hat trick and two assists in a 6-0 victory over Bolivia on Oct. 15, 2024.