Messi could join Argentina for matches vs. Uruguay, Brazil this month

Argentina will visit Uruguay at Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, Uruguay on March 21 at 7:30 p.m. ET, then host Brazil at Mâs Monumental in Buenos Aires on March 25 at 8 p.m. ET.

Messi, the Inter Miami star and World Cup champion, was featured on a pre-list of 33 players called up by Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni on Sunday night.

Typically, Messi has joined his national team during FIFA international breaks, like the upcoming one from March 17-25 when the two matches will be played.

The World Cup qualifying matches add to the already busy workload Messi has with Inter Miami to begin the 2025 season.

Messi is healthy, but did not play in Inter Miami’s 4-1 win on the road against the Houston Dynamo on Sunday night – a decision made by coach Javier Mascherano to rest Messi amid a congested start to the 2025 season.

Messi has played in three of four Inter Miami matches already this year, and the club will play four more matches until the FIFA window.

From Feb. 19 to March 16, a 25-day stretch, Inter Miami will play four MLS games and four games in the Concacaf Champions Cup.

Messi is expected to play Thursday when Inter Miami hosts Jamaican league champions Cavalier FC in the first of two matchups in the Concacaf Champions Cup. The second leg will be played in Jamaica on March 13. Both matches will begin at 8 p.m. ET.

Inter Miami’s next MLS game is Sunday at home against Charlotte FC at 4 p.m. ET.

Inter Miami will also visit Atlanta United on March 16, in a rematch of last season’s MLS Cup Playoffs first-round matchup, which saw Atlanta eliminate Inter Miami in upset fashion last November.

Argentina leads the Conmebol World Cup qualifying table with 25 points, followed by Uruguay in second with 20 points from 12 games played last year. Brazil ranks fifth with 18 points, behind Ecuador and Colombia with 19 points each.