Lionel Messi, the star of Argentina’s tour of the United States

Lionel Messi is back with the Argentina national team. After playing their last game against Brazil on 22 November last year, the Albiceleste will return to the pitch this month. The US tour will help Lionel Scaloni’s men prepare for the Copa América later this summer. Argentina want to defend the title won in 2021 and to do so, they want to have the best possible squad.

The Albiceleste will first face El Salvador on 22 March at Lincoln Financial Field and then Costa Rica on 26 March at the Coliseum Stadium in Los Angeles. The organisation of these matches has not been easy. Originally, Argentina’s opponents were to have been El Salvador and Nigeria, but an administrative problem with the African country’s visas put paid to their inclusion. Instead, the AFA announced that Costa Rica would play, a team that has so far failed to beat them in any match.

The squad will include some youngsters such as Valentin Barco, the Brighton left-back, and Valentin Carboni (18) of Monza on loan from Inter. The pair are very promising players who will play their first game with the senior team. Another name that is present is Facundo Buonanotte (19) from Brighton, who already made his debut in a friendly against Indonesia.

The Albiceleste’s main absentees due to injury are Gonzalo Montiel, Marcos Acuña and Guido Rodríguez. The three are players who played in the World Cup qualifiers in South America, but who will not be available for the first friendly matches of 2024. The next friendly matches for the national team will take place in June, in the days leading up to the Copa América.