LIONEL Messi will start for Argentina in a friendly against Zambia on Tuesday in what is the reigning world champions’ final game on home soil before they defend their World Cup crown.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said Messi, who began on the bench for Friday’s lacklustre 2-1 win over Mauritania, will spearhead what is expected to be a full-strength side against Zambia.
“Messi will be in the starting lineup tomorrow,” Scaloni said.
Messi, 38, has not formally confirmed he plans to play in the World Cup, but played a full part in Argentina’s qualification campaign for the finals.
Scaloni indicated that he expects Messi to be part of his squad for what would be the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner’s sixth World Cup appearance.
“The important thing is that he comes and enjoys being at a World Cup — which, theoretically, will be his last,” Scaloni said of Messi.
“We want him to enjoy it, because later on, you really miss playing in events like these.”
Scaloni said Messi on Tuesday will be surrounded by the established core of the team, which topped South American qualifying, and that will start the World Cup among the favourites for the title.
“Most of the players we know well will be playing. This will be the final test,” Scaloni said.
“Later, we’ll make some changes to take a look at some of the younger guys, but the idea is to field our most familiar lineup,” he said, emphasising that Friday’s scrappy win over Mauritania was not representative of his squad.
“I am convinced that the team’s performance level is not what we saw the other day,” Scaloni said. “If we see that the team isn’t quite there, we’ll look for other options. But they deserve a vote of confidence.”
Scaloni has already submitted a preliminary 55-player list to the Argentina Football Association, with the final 26-man squad to be confirmed at the end of May.
“I have the list pretty well figured out, but if performance levels aren’t up to par, we’ll take measures to ensure we bring the absolute best squad possible; we are striving for something as close to perfection as we can get,” he said.
“The players who have been with us for a while hold a slight advantage simply because we know them well; however, they have to maintain that advantage — and everyone knows what happened the other day (against Mauritania) cannot be repeated.”