Fernando Romero Nuñez 
The Argentina men’s national football team has arrived in Buenos Aires in preparation for the second round of South American Qualifiers fixtures. Captain Lionel Messi and goalkeeper Emiliano “Dibu” Martínez are among the stars to put themselves at the orders of coach Lionel Scaloni.
The Albiceleste had a roaring start to its World Cup title defense, beating Ecuador 1-0 and Bolivia 3-0 in the first two fixtures of the South American Qualifiers to the 2026 tournament. The bad news for Scaloni came when Messi asked to be subbed off, the start of an injury struggle for the Rosario-born star that has seen him play just 62 minutes of football since September 7.
However, Messi was among the first to land in Argentina to prepare for Thursday’s challenge against Paraguay. He arrived in a private plane with Inter Miami teammate Facundo Farías, and another World Cup-winning MLS star, Atlanta United’s Thiago Almada.
The first to welcome him was Argentine Football Federation president Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia. “You’re back home. Welcome, world champion”, wrote Tapia on his X profile, next to a photo with the freshly arrived Messi.
Another to make his return was Dibu Martínez. “I’m just another Argentina fan and I am proud to be part of this team,” said the Argentine national team goalkeeper.
“The Qualifiers are always tough games,” he continued. “If we’re determined, we will do well. We want to lift more trophies, we are going to win the Copa América.”
Dibu, who plays his club football for the Premier League’s Aston Villa, was joined by other players who ply their trade in England, such as Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister, Tottenham’s Cristian “Cuti” Romero and Nottingham Forest’s Gonzalo Montiel.The Argentina men’s national football team will face Paraguay at home on Thursday at 8 p.m. After that, the Albiceleste will visit Peru on Tuesday, October 17, with the game set to kick off 11 p.m. Argentina time. All games can be watched live through Argentina’s national public broadcaster, TV Pública, for free, or through the cable sports channel TyC Sports.
