THis friendlies ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup continue to be a hot topic. In the case of the Argentina national team, they played against Mauritania (2-1) and Zambia (5-0) and said goodbye to their fans before leaving for the big tournament. One of the players saw his dream come true before the game.
Toms Aranda, an 18-year-old Boca Juniors player, couldn’t help but feel mixed emotions as he trained with Lionel Messi and the rest of the team at La Bombonera Stadium.
Aranda reflects on his nervousness after training with Argentina national team
The young player was called up to represent Argentina’s U-20 national team and had the chance to play and share moments with Lionel Scaloni’s side, including Messi and his Boca teammate Leandro Paredes, for two first-team friendlies.
There he exchanged a few words and also had the opportunity to capture the moment with the 38-year-old Albiceleste captain.
“When I got to the locker room and saw the photo, my whole body was shaking,” Aranda revealed to Boca’s official channel about his moment with Leo (via One Football).
“I couldn’t believe it. When I played with them, I imagined them in my head. It’s crazy. I played with them both. They are my idols,” he said of Paredes and Messi. “He makes difficult things look easy. I would replay the play in my head afterwards and think, ‘How does he do that?'” he added of the No. 10.
Toms had a dream week, not only being called up to the U-20 squad and training with the Argentina national team, but also scoring his first goal for Zenizes in the 2-0 win over Instituto.
After the practice session, coach Scaloni himself described Aranda as a “very interesting” player, but tempered expectations and reminded everyone that he is a very young player who is just beginning his career. “We have to give him time, but he has the desire and confidence. He is an outstanding talent in one-on-one situations,” the manager commented in a press conference.
Now, heading into the next tournament to be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11th to July 19th, Argentina will emerge as the defending champions and must defend their title. In Group J, they will face Algeria on Tuesday, June 16th at Kansas City Stadium. They will then face Austria on Monday, June 22nd and Jordan on Saturday, June 27th at Dallas Stadium.
