The current world champions (Argentina) just received a significant advantage. According to their manager Lionel Scaloni, the team’s leader, Lionel Messi, will take part in the last friendly played before the World Cup against Iceland, which will take place at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Messi had recently taken some time away from the game due to a muscle strain caused by fatigue after the Inter Miami vs Philadelphia Union game on the 24th of May. He missed out on Argentina's win over Honduras, and he needs the match practice before the competition gets underway.
Managing the Minutes
Before the game, Scaloni explained to the media that his captain is fit for the game, and that is a fact, but he was a bit hesitant when it came to the total workload of Messi. The coach highlighted that Messi for sure is going to be involved in the game. Yet, the staff, after watching the final training session, will decide the playing time to skip any risk of overexposure to the star player.
“He is going to play; what I don’t know is how many minutes. I still have to speak with him; we still have today’s training session. We will see how many minutes it will take to avoid taking any kind of risk, and we will decide then. But in principle, yes, he will get minutes.“
A History of Trouble Against Iceland
The last time these two South American powerhouses met was in the first match of the 2018 World Cup group stages, where they drew 1-1 against each other, an upset that shocked Argentina. Messi also missed a penalty that day, adding to the history behind this last preparation match as they prepare to take on each other again in 2019.
Besides Messi, Scaloni desires to make numerous player changes in the team compared to the one that beat Honduras. The final line-up will be decided solely on the players' fitness after their last tactical training.
The Argentine team will begin its official World Cup journey with a match against Algeria on June 16. Playing with Messi against Iceland will give the team the much-needed freshness and match fitness and will clearly be a great morale booster as they start their title defense.
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