Site icon E28

Scaloni Breaks Silence on Messi Meeting and World Cup Squad Plans

E28 Staff1
Argentina

The 2026 FIFA World Cup, set to take place across the United States, Mexico, and Canada, will feature 48 teams, with defending champions Argentina targeting back-to-back glory. Head coach Lionel Scaloni has now lifted the curtain on his vision for the Albiceleste squad, his recent meeting with captain Lionel Messi, and preparations for the global showpiece.

Scaloni recently sat down with Messi, describing the encounter as calm yet revealing. Speaking at the Argentine Football Association (AFA) studio, the World Cup-winning coach said:

β€œπ‘° 𝒔𝒂𝒕 π’˜π’Šπ’•π’‰ 𝑳𝒆𝒐 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒆. 𝑯𝒆’𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 π’•π’“π’–π’π’š 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒙𝒆𝒅—𝒉𝒆’𝒔 π’‚π’π’˜π’‚π’šπ’” π’„π’π’Žπ’‘π’†π’•π’Šπ’π’ˆ. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 π’Žπ’Šπ’π’…π’”π’†π’• 𝒔𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’•π’†π’‚π’Ž. 𝑨 π’„π’‚π’‘π’•π’‚π’Šπ’ π’˜π’‰π’ π’‘π’π’‚π’šπ’” 𝒂𝒔 π’Šπ’‡ π’Šπ’•β€™π’” 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒂 π’π’†π’ˆπ’‚π’„π’š π’ƒπ’†π’‰π’Šπ’π’….”

Despite the high-profile meeting, Scaloni made it clear that Messi’s World Cup future was not discussed.

β€œπ‘·π’π’‚π’šπ’†π’“π’” π’ˆπ’†π’• π’Šπ’π’‹π’–π’“π’†π’…, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’π’π’ƒπ’π’…π’š π’˜π’‚π’π’•π’” π’†π’™π’„π’π’–π’”π’Šπ’π’π’”. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 π’˜π’‰π’š π’˜π’† 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓 π’π’Šπ’”π’• π’•π’‰π’Šπ’” π’•π’Šπ’Žπ’†.”

Argentina Squad Planning, Young Talent, and Group Analysis

Scaloni confirmed that Argentina has already prepared an expanded 50-man provisional list, citing lessons from the previous World Cup, where injuries disrupted selections.

β€œπ‘·π’π’‚π’šπ’†π’“π’” π’ˆπ’†π’• π’Šπ’π’‹π’–π’“π’†π’…, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’π’π’ƒπ’π’…π’š π’˜π’‚π’π’•π’” π’†π’™π’„π’π’–π’”π’Šπ’π’π’”. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 π’˜π’‰π’š π’˜π’† 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓 π’π’Šπ’”π’• π’•π’‰π’Šπ’” π’•π’Šπ’Žπ’†.”

The coach also addressed transfer speculation involving Thiago Almada and Valentin Carboni, stressing that club decisions won’t affect national team chances.

β€œπ‘Ύπ’‰π’‚π’• π’Žπ’‚π’•π’•π’†π’“π’” 𝒕𝒐 𝒖𝒔 π’Šπ’” π’‘π’†π’“π’‡π’π’“π’Žπ’‚π’π’„π’†, 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’π’†π’‚π’ˆπ’–π’† 𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒃. 𝑰𝒇 π’•π’‰π’†π’š π’‘π’π’‚π’š π’˜π’†π’π’ 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’”π’•π’‚π’š π’„π’π’Žπ’‘π’†π’•π’Šπ’•π’Šπ’—π’†, π’•π’‰π’†π’š π’˜π’Šπ’π’ π’‚π’π’˜π’‚π’šπ’” 𝒃𝒆 π’„π’π’π’”π’Šπ’…π’†π’“π’†π’….”

Looking ahead to the group stage, Scaloni warned that Argentina’s opponents should not be underestimated.

β€œπ‘¨π’π’ˆπ’†π’“π’Šπ’‚ 𝒂𝒓𝒆 π’…π’‚π’π’ˆπ’†π’“π’π’–π’”, π‘¨π’–π’”π’•π’“π’Šπ’‚ 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 π’‚π’ˆπ’ˆπ’“π’†π’”π’”π’Šπ’—π’†π’π’š, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑱𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒂𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 π’•π’‰π’†π’Šπ’“ π’’π’–π’‚π’π’Šπ’•π’š π’Šπ’ π‘¨π’”π’Šπ’‚. π‘¬π’—π’†π’“π’š π’Žπ’‚π’•π’„π’‰ π’˜π’Šπ’π’ π’…π’†π’Žπ’‚π’π’… 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔.”

Concluding his remarks, Scaloni emphasized trust in the current squad structure, noting that peak fitness at the right moment will be decisive as the tournament approaches.

Also Read: FIFA Chief Pays Tribute After Khaleda Zia’s Passing

Exit mobile version