Will Lionel Messi play tonight for Argentina's friendly match against Iceland? | OneFootball

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is two days away from starting. Every national squad is ending their last friendly matches to focus on the international tournament.

Argentina's national team plays against Iceland before their World Cup debut against Algeria at Arrowhead Stadium.

The key question is whether Lionel Messi will take part in this match. In Argentina's most recent friendly, the Inter Miami captain did not see any playing time as he continues to recover from a muscle overload.

Lionel Scaloni, Argentina’s manager, has to decide whether to put the back-to-back MLS MVP against the European team.

Is Lionel Messi playing against Iceland tonight?

Numerous reports indicate that Lionel Scaloni plans to start Lionel Messi tonight at Jordan-Hare Stadium. However, the real question is not whether the GOAT will play, but rather how many minutes he will play.

In a recent press conference, the 2022 World Cup champion manager confirmed that Lionel Messi will participate in Argentina’s last friendly match. Despite this news, Scaloni is still deciding whether Heron's number ten will start or come off the bench.

Many reports say that Messi will be in the starting lineup, but the official lineups have not yet been released. One thing is clear and will bring joy to every soccer fan: the Argentine captain will play tonight.

Since this is his last World Cup, Scaloni will try to preserve Messi as much as possible. This means that if he is not completely necessary, or if the scoreline is comfortable for Argentina, the head coach would likely avoid taking any risks and take him off the field.

Messi's recent setbacks have been more related to physical wear and tear than to any serious muscular issue.

With that in mind, the coach from Pujato is unlikely to leave anything to chance and risk a potential injury to the two-time Copa América champion in the middle of the tournament.