Scaloni Calls Up Messi for His Final Match with Argentina

Some squad announcements are routine, and some carry a different kind of weight. This one belongs to the second group. Lionel Scaloni released his list of call ups for the upcoming FIFA date, in which the Argentine national team will face Bolivia, Burkina Faso and Benin, and the name that gives this whole thing a special flavor is Lionel Messi, who will be on the field for his last friendly with the Albiceleste.

Messi had already announced his retirement from the national team, but he was specially invited to play that final match of the tour against Benin, which will be held at the Estadio Monumental. It's the closing of a chapter that promises strong emotions for Argentine fans.

As expected, the core of the list repeats much of the squad that competed at the 2026 World Cup. Names like Emiliano Martinez, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister, Rodrigo De Paul, Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez all appear again, among other World Cup veterans that Scaloni is calling back to keep the team's backbone intact.

The Ones Returning from Injury

But what makes this call up interesting also has to do with the comebacks. Leonardo Balerdi had been left out of the World Cup due to a last minute injury, and now he's back on the roster. The same goes for Juan Foyth, a world champion in Qatar 2022, who also missed the World Cup through injury and now gets the call from Scaloni to log more minutes with the Albiceleste.

There are two similar cases: Franco Mastantuono and Matias Soule had been part of the preliminary list of 55 players considered for the World Cup, but didn't make the final cut. Now both are back in the squad. Something similar happened to Gianluca Prestianni and Santiago Castro, who also fell short before the tournament and watched the World Cup from home. Both are off to a strong start to the season in Europe, wearing the colors of Benfica and Roma respectively, and that shows in their return to the list.

Agustin Giay is another player making a reappearance: he came very close to making the World Cup squad and continues to build minutes with the senior national team.

The Debutant Arriving from Russia

The big news on the list has a name: Roman Vega. The fullback, who played for Argentinos Juniors and Barcelona's reserve team before moving to Zenit in Russia, represented Argentina at the 2023 U20 World Cup, but had never before been called up to the senior team. His first call up, fittingly, comes on a date that will be remembered for Messi's farewell, something that will no doubt make his debut in this cycle even more special.

Between returns, generational turnover and a farewell loaded with symbolism, this FIFA date in late September and early October promises to be one of the most memorable for Argentine fans, regardless of the results against Bolivia, Burkina Faso and Benin.