Argentina’s farewell tour for Lionel Messi will begin without two players who had hoped to be part of a defining international window. Villarreal defender Juan Foyth and River Plate midfielder Thiago Almada have both withdrawn through injury from the squad for the three upcoming friendlies.
The matches against Benin, Burkina Faso and Bolivia, scheduled across September and October, are set to frame Messi’s final appearances for Argentina. After a career that brought goals, a World Cup and years as the Albiceleste’s central figure, the captain is approaching his international goodbye.
Quick facts
- Juan Foyth, 28, has pulled out with a muscle injury.
- Thiago Almada, 24, was unable to recover after leaving River Plate’s latest match early.
- Argentina will play Benin, Burkina Faso and Bolivia in the September-October friendly series.
- No replacements for Foyth and Almada have yet been confirmed.
- Foyth was part of Argentina’s 2022 World Cup-winning squad.
Almada had arrived in the international break carrying a fitness concern. The River player was forced off before full time in his last club outing and did not recover sufficiently to remain available for the national team.
Foyth’s setback comes after more than three weeks without a Villarreal appearance. The 28-year-old had been nearing the end of his rehabilitation from a muscular problem, but has not returned in time for the Argentina camp.
For Foyth, it is another frustrating interruption in an international career marked by missed tournaments. He was absent from the 2018 World Cup and the Copa América editions of 2021 and 2024, with Qatar 2022 the major exception.
That tournament in Qatar ended with the defender as a world champion alongside Messi. This time, however, he will miss a gathering likely to be shaped by the emotion around the captain’s final games in Argentina colours.
Coach Lionel Scaloni must now reshape his group for a window that carries more weight than a normal run of friendlies. The Argentine Football Association has announced both withdrawals but has not yet named the players who will fill the two vacant places.
