{"id":545286,"date":"2026-03-18T20:57:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T20:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/545286\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T20:57:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T20:57:10","slug":"lionel-messi-to-lead-argentina-in-friendly-match-against-guatemala-ahead-of-world-cup-winnipeg-free-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/545286\/","title":{"rendered":"Lionel Messi to lead Argentina in friendly match against Guatemala ahead of World Cup \u2013 Winnipeg Free Press"},"content":{"rendered":"

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) \u2014 Lionel Messi was called up Wednesday for a March 31 friendly match against Guatemala as Argentina gears up to defend its title in the World Cup.<\/p>\n

The game at La Bombonera in Buenos Aires was arranged after the Finalissima between Argentina and Spain on March 27 in Qatar was called off because of the conflict in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

Coach Lionel Scaloni left out striker Lautaro Mart\u00ednez, defender Lisandro Mart\u00ednez, and midfielder Giovani Lo Celso because of physical problems.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Inter
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tInter Miami forward Lionel Messi moves the ball against Nashville SC defender Maxwell Woledzi (3) in the first half of a CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16 soccer match Wednesday, March 11, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/Mark Humphrey)<\/p>\n

Mart\u00ednez (left calf strain) has been cleared to play but has yet to return for Inter Milan. Jos\u00e9 Manuel L\u00f3pez of Palmeiras in Brazil was called up in his place.<\/p>\n

Manchester United\u2019s Lisandro Mart\u00ednez is unavailable due to physical discomfort. Lo Celso of Real Betis is recovering from a muscle tear.<\/p>\n

Estudiantes de La Plata defender Tom\u00e1s Palacios and Racing Club full-back Gabriel Rojas received their first senior national team call-ups.<\/p>\n

Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni was called up despite being embroiled in controversy over alleged racist remarks to Vinicius Junior during a Champions League match.<\/p>\n

Three-time champion Argentina is in a group with Algeria, Austria and Jordan.<\/p>\n

\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Sign<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP soccer: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/soccer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) \u2014 Lionel Messi was called up Wednesday for a March 31 friendly match against…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":545287,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":["post-545286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=545286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545286\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/545287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=545286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=545286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=545286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}