Argentina and Venezuela arrive at the October international break in very different situations. While Lionel Messi and his teammates secured qualification for the FIFA World Cup 2026 some time ago, their opponents were eliminated on the final matchday of the qualifiers, losing the chance to compete in the world tournament for the first time in their history.
This Friday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, the two teams will meet in a friendly that will allow both coaches to test new options and shape their squads for the future. In Lionel Scaloni’s case, it’s a valuable opportunity to give playing time to young talents like Nicolas Paz or Franco Mastantuono.
However, the main question surrounding this matchup is about Lionel Messi. He is part of Argentina’s squad and has been training with his teammates throughout the week, but that hasn’t stopped speculation about the possibility of him returning to Inter Miami to play Saturday’s match against Atlanta United.
While it would be unusual for a player to interrupt national team duty to appear for his club and then rejoin the squad, the fact that all parties are in the same city could make it feasible. In fact, neither Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni nor Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano ruled out the possibility when asked publicly.
Lionel Scaloni, Head Coach of Argentina.
Argentina projected lineup
Amid the speculation, it’s almost certain that Lionel Messi won’t be in Argentina’s starting lineup for Friday’s match. Instead, Nicolas Paz is expected to take on the playmaker role, joining Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez in the attack.
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The likely XI selected by Lionel Scaloni is: Geronimo Rulli; Gonzalo Montiel, Cristian Romero, Marcos Senesi, Nicolas Gonzalez; Alexis Mac Allister, Leandro Paredes, Enzo Fernandez; Nicolas Paz, Lautaro Martinez, Julian Alvarez.
Venezuela projected lineup
After being eliminated from World Cup qualifiers, Fernando Batista’s tenure as Venezuela’s coach came to an end, having failed to lead the team to its first-ever appearance at the FIFA tournament. Now, Oswaldo Vizcarrondo is serving as interim head coach until a new manager is hired for the next World Cup cycle.
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Vizcarrondo’s probable XI to face Argentina is: Jose Contreras; Jon Aramburu, Carlos Vivas, Teo Quintero, Nahuel Ferraresi, Luis Balbo; Cristian Casseres, Telasco Segovia, Jorge Yriarte; Kevin Kelsy, Jovanny Bolivar.
