Lionel Messi Returns to Starting Lineup vs Zambia

Messi starts for Argentina vs Zambia

Lionel Messi to lead Argentina in friendly against Zambia ahead of World Cup defense.

Messi to start for Argentina vs Zambia in World Cup send-off...

Lionel Messi will start for Argentina in a friendly against Zambia on Tuesday, marking their last home game before the World Cup defense.

Coach Lionel Scaloni said Messi will lead a full-strength side against Zambia, after coming on as a sub in Friday's 2-1 win over Mauritania. 

“Messi will be in the starting lineup tomorrow,” Scaloni said, confirming the superstar's return to the starting XI.

Messi, 38, hasn't ruled out playing in the World Cup, and played full matches during qualification. Scaloni expects him to be part of the squad for his sixth World Cup.

“The important thing is that he comes and enjoys being at a World Cup — which, theoretically, will be his last,” Scaloni said of Messi.

“We want him to enjoy it, because later on, you really miss playing in events like these.”

Scaloni said Messi will be backed by the team's established core on Tuesday - the same squad that's topping South American qualifying and World Cup favorites.

“Most of the players we know well will be playing. This will be the final test,” Scaloni said.

“Later, we'll make some changes to take a look at some of the younger guys, but the idea is to field our most familiar lineup,” he said, emphasising that Friday's scrappy win over Mauritania was not representative of his squad.

“I am convinced that the team's performance level is not what we saw the other day,” Scaloni said. “If we see that the team isn't quite there, we'll look for other options. But they deserve a vote of confidence.”

𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 for what's coming 😏 pic.twitter.com/xDzTMeJoF7

— Selección Argentina in English (@AFASeleccionEN) March 28, 2026

Scaloni's already submitted a preliminary 55-player list to the Argentina Football Association, with the final 26-man squad to be announced end of May.

“I have the list pretty well figured out, but if performance levels aren't up to par, we'll take measures to ensure we bring the absolute best squad possible; we are striving for something as close to perfection as we can get,” he said.

“The players who have been with us for a while hold a slight advantage simply because we know them well; however, they have to maintain that advantage -- and everyone knows what happened the other day (against Mauritania) cannot be repeated.”