{"id":26603,"date":"2026-03-18T21:12:50","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T21:12:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/18\/lionel-messi-leads-argentina-national-team-in-friendly-match-against-guatemala\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T21:12:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T21:12:50","slug":"lionel-messi-leads-argentina-national-team-in-friendly-match-against-guatemala","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/18\/lionel-messi-leads-argentina-national-team-in-friendly-match-against-guatemala\/","title":{"rendered":"Lionel Messi leads Argentina national team in friendly match against Guatemala"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) \u2014 <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\">lionel messi<\/span> He was called up on Wednesday for a friendly against Guatemala on March 31, as Argentina prepare to defend their title. <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\">world cup<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>game at <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\">La Bombonera<\/span> The event will be held in Buenos Aires, <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\">finalissima<\/span> The match between Argentina and Spain, held in Qatar on March 27th, was canceled due to the conflict in the Middle East.<\/p>\n<p>Coach Lionel Scaloni was without striker Lautaro Martinez, defender Lisandro Martinez and midfielder Giovani Lo Celso due to physical problems.<\/p>\n<p>Martinez (left calf muscle strain) has been cleared to play, but has not yet returned to Inter Milan. Jose Manuel L\u00f3pez of Palmeiras from Brazil was called up in his place.<\/p>\n<p>Manchester United&#8217;s Lisandro Martinez will be absent due to illness. Real Betis&#8217; Lo Celso is recovering from a muscle strain.<\/p>\n<p>Estudiantes de la Plata defender Tom\u00e1s Palacios and Racing Club fullback Gabriel Rojas have been called up to the first national team for the first time.<\/p>\n<p>Benfica winger Gianluca Prestiani has been called up despite being embroiled in controversy. <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\">Alleged racist remarks against Vinicius Junior<\/span> During a Champions League match.<\/p>\n<p>Three-time champions Argentina are in the same group as Algeria, Austria and Jordan.<\/p>\n<p>___<\/p>\n<p>AP Soccer: <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\">https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/soccer<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/lionel-messi-argentina-guatemala-world-cup-181c970a275279cd40a8e3c1c06113be\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) \u2014 lionel messi He was called up on Wednesday for a friendly against Guatemala on March 31, as Argentina prepare to defend their title. world cup. game at La Bombonera The event will be held in Buenos Aires, finalissima The match between Argentina and Spain, held in Qatar on March 27th,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26604,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-26603","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-soccer"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Lionel Messi leads Argentina national team in friendly match against Guatemala - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; 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