Messi to start in friendly against Zambia, says Scaloni | OneFootball

“Messi will start,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni announced as soon as he began his press conference this Monday (30), on the eve of the warm-up friendly for the World Cup against Zambia, in Buenos Aires.

Scaloni confirmed that the No. 10 will be in the starting lineup against the African national team, in what will be the ‘Albiceleste’s’ last home match before the 2026 World Cup.

“The important thing is that he comes and enjoys being at a World Cup, which in theory will be his last. We want him to enjoy it, because afterward he will miss playing,” the Argentine coach said.

“Most of the players we know will be on the field. It will be the final test. After that, we will make changes to observe some of the younger players,” Scaloni said, making clear his aim to improve after an unconvincing 2-1 win over Mauritania last Friday.

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“I know the level is not the same. If we see that it is not up to standard, we will look for other options. But the team deserves a vote of confidence,” the coach reiterated.

Scaloni has already submitted to the AFA the initial list of 55 call-ups for the World Cup. The final list, reduced to 26 players, will be announced at the end of May.

“I have the list pretty much defined, but if the performance is not up to standard, we will take measures to ensure the best possible result. We are aiming for something as close to perfection as possible,” he revealed.

“The players who have been with us for some time have a certain advantage, because we know them, but they need to maintain that advantage, and everyone knows that what happened the other day (against Mauritania) cannot happen again,” Scaloni said.

The coach spoke about the possibility of renewing his contract for a third spell in charge of the national team, saying that “this is the place where every Argentine wants to be.”

“How could I not feel tempted to be here! But right now, it is not important to talk about that. We’ll see later,” he said.

*By AFP

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.