Trio fit and ready to play despite initial injury concerns
Lionel Scaloni has confirmed Lionel Messi, Emiliano Martinez and Julian Alvarez will feature for Argentina in their opening World Cup match against Algeria, providing a significant lift for the defending champions before Tuesday’s Group J fixture in Kansas City.
Messi, who had been managing a minor hamstring strain, is expected to feature, while Alvarez has recovered from an ankle problem and Martinez is fit despite a fractured middle finger. Scaloni said all three players had responded well in training and were available for selection.
The Argentina manager also tried to ease concerns over his squad’s fitness ahead of the tournament, saying that the team had arrived at the World Cup in a positive frame of mind despite recent injury issues.
“We are good, we are calm,” Scaloni said. “We are facing a good team with good players. But we are calm, we are arriving at a good moment.”
Scaloni also played down the importance of the opening match, pointing to Argentina’s experience at the previous World Cup and insisting the tournament would not be defined by the result against Algeria.
“It’s important, but it doesn’t end with the first game,” Scaloni said. Messi’s fitness has been a major talking point in the build-up to the tournament, but Scaloni expressed confidence that the 39-year-old captain remains central to Argentina’s ambitions.
“Everyone wants to see Messi on the field,” Scaloni said. “He’s always been monumental for us, and now he will be even more. I see him well.”
Martinez is expected to start in goal after training without difficulty in recent days, while Alvarez is once again available as an attacking option after recovering from the ankle injury that had threatened his involvement.
#SelecciónMayor Cerramos nuestra preparación para el debut. Todo listo. Todo preparado. Momento de disfrutar del inicio mundialista 😍🇦🇷#MásJuntosQueNunca 🩵🤍🩵 pic.twitter.com/KfybIyF18Z
— 🇦🇷 Selección Argentina ⭐⭐⭐ (@Argentina) June 16, 2026
Scaloni said Nicolas Tagliafico was the only player still being monitored, although he indicated that Argentina had no significant injury concerns ahead of their first match.
“I’ve always had difficulty [choosing the starting XI] because of the quality of the players on the national team, beyond if we have an injured player which is not the case now,” Scaloni said.
“There are no injured players. We will just monitor the case of Nico Tagliafico, if he joins the team for training but in principle all players are available.
“I never had an inconvenience making the team. The inconvenience I did have was leaving behind great players, but equilibrium is principle. We play with 11 and we try to find equilibrium, so someone is left out but we are good.”
