Kansas City (USA): The defending champion Argentina team is fully prepared with the intention of defending its title in the FIFA World Cup 2026. Argentina is going to face Algeria in its first match of the tournament. On the eve of the match, Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni made it clear that although the first match is very important, it does not decide the future of the entire tournament. He gave the example of the Qatar World Cup (2022) four years ago, where despite losing the first match to Saudi Arabia, Argentina made a brilliant comeback and captured the World Cup trophy for the third time.

Challenge to change 64 years old history

Defending its title has been the most difficult task for any team in the history of the Football World Cup. Till now only Italy (1938) and Brazil (1962) have been able to achieve the feat of winning the World Cup twice consecutively. No country has been able to repeat this achievement for the last 64 years. In such a situation, veteran footballer Lionel Messi and his team will have a big and difficult challenge to create history this time.

Suspense on fitness of many players including Messi

Before the first match, there is concern in the Argentina camp regarding injuries to some key players. Star striker Lionel Messi is nursing a mild hamstring strain, while Nico Paz is recovering from a knee injury and Julian Alvarez is recovering from an ankle injury. Star goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez has a fractured finger but is expected to play. The biggest question is about defender Nicolas Tagliafico, whose injury is still under suspense.

Clarifying the team’s situation, coach Scaloni said, “Most of the players in our team are fully fit and confident. There is only some concern about Nico’s injury, none of the other players are seriously injured. We are fully prepared for this challenge.”

Captain Lionel Messi looked relaxed and fit

38-year-old captain Lionel Messi may have kept his distance from the media since reaching the base camp in Kansas City, but he looked quite relaxed and in great form during the practice session. In a warm-up match played against Iceland last week, Messi spent 20 minutes on the field and completely dismissed all the questions and apprehensions raised about his fitness by scoring a brilliant goal.