Is Lionel Messi playing today for Argentina vs Curacao? Latest lineup update for Tuesday friendly

Argentina and Lionel Messi celebrated their 2022 World Cup victory with a celebratory 2-0 win over Panama last week.

Playing at gritty El Monumental, the South American giants were welcomed home as heroes.

The greatest of them, Lionel Messi, starred against Panama as he contributed to the first goal before scoring the second with a spot-on free-kick.

Argentina will play another friendly on home soil against Curacao on Tuesday night, with all eyes on Messi as he nears another milestone.

MORE: Who has scored the most goals in international football?

Will Lionel Messi play for Argentina against Curacao today?

Messi is expected to be heavily involved again against Curacao after playing the full 90 minutes against Panama.

The 35-year-old has had a good season, missing just a handful of games for club and country.

With Argentina fans getting another chance to celebrate the team’s World Cup triumph, it’s hard to imagine Messi being left out of Lionel Scaloni’s starting XI – especially when he’s chasing his 100th goal for Argentina.

Should Argentina dominate the game, Messi is likely to be substituted and would no doubt leave the field with a well-deserved standing ovation for everything he has done for the national team.

Will Messi play at the 2026 World Cup?

Before and during the 2022 World Cup, Messi had hinted that the tournament would be his last.

But after lifting the trophy, he insisted that this was not the end of his international career with Argentina.

“No, I will not retire from the Argentina national team,” he told TyC Sports. “I want to keep playing as a champion.”

Scaloni also tried to lure Messi back for the 2026 World Cup immediately after his last win against France, saying: “Messi should have a place at the next World Cup. If he wants to keep playing, the ’10’ will always be his.” “

In a speech in March, Scaloni continued to keep the door open to Messi potentially playing at the 2026 World Cup.

“Being at the next World Cup will be Leo’s decision; if his body can take it, he’ll be there for me,” said Scaloni.

How many goals does Messi have with Argentina?

Messi has scored 99 goals for Argentina senior team so far.

This gives the attacker a good chance of reaching the 100-goal mark for his country in the friendly against Curacao.

Messi scored seven goals at the 2022 World Cup and 18 goals throughout the year – his best return for Argentina to date.

The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner is already Argentina’s all-time top scorer and all-time cap player.