Lionel Messi gets a special treat at Argentina’s World Cup training camp that no other player has.
Lionel Messi has been given a special treat at Argentina’s World Cup training base that no other player has received.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner is playing in his sixth World Cup, a record, and hopes to keep the trophy he finally won in Qatar last year.
Argentina’s coach, Lionel Scaloni, revealed the 26-man World Cup squad on Thursday. Out of the 2022 winning team, nine players didn’t make the cut this time. Big names like Franco Mastantuono, Alejandro Garnacho, and Paulo Dybala were left out after Scaloni carefully picked his team.
At 38, Messi remains the star of the team, and Argentina is counting on him to help defend their title.
Interestingly, Messi is getting some extra comfort during the tournament—he has his own room! While in Kansas City, the Inter Miami star stays alone in room 202, right next to his friends Rodrigo De Paul and Nicolas Otamendi.
In the past, Messi used to share a room with his longtime teammate Sergio Aguero, but since Aguero retired for health reasons, Messi prefers to room alone. He did the same in the 2022 World Cup, which meant Emiliano Martinez had to share with a coach instead.
Argentina is in Group J, playing against Algeria, Austria, and Jordan. Before the tournament starts, they have friendly games against Honduras and Iceland. Their first World Cup match is against Algeria on June 16 in Kansas City. Then they face Austria on June 22 in Arlington, Texas, and finish the group stage against Jordan on June 27.
Messi gave fans a little worry when he had to come off with muscle fatigue during Inter Miami’s exciting 6-4 win over Philadelphia in May. But Coach Scaloni said the injury wasn’t too serious. Messi trained alone on Monday to be careful, and he’s expected to be fit for the first match against Algeria.
Other players like Emiliano Martinez, Nico Paz, Leandro Paredes, Nico Gonzalez, Thiago Almada, Gonzalo Montiel, and Nahuel Molina also worked on their own after fitness issues.
The good news is that Julian Alvarez and Cristiano Romero are both ready to play in the warm-up game against Honduras.