Suspense Crime, Digital Desk : The 39-year-old will be making a huge milestone as he appears in his 200th match for the Argentina squad. Lionel Messi eyes a return from a hamstring injury. The opening match for the Albiceleste is against Algeria in the FIFA World Cup 2026.The manager of Argentina, Lionel Scaloni asked for 'calmness' at the opening fixture for his side against Algeria in the FIFA World Cup 2026. He announced 3 vital players- Lionel Messi, Emiliano Martinez, and Julian Alvarez- are eligible to play against Algeria in their fixture at the Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on June 17 (IST).Messi is also on track to make his record sixth appearance in the FIFA World Cup tournament- the most by any player. He currently has 199 international caps for La Albiceleste, and the 200th cap is expected in the opener.Scaloni confirms Messi is fit and ready for his 200th cap.It looks like Messi's 200th cap is not far, as he is expected to start in the opening match of the defending champions. "Everyone wants to see [Leo] Messi inside the field, playing. He excited everyone, not just Argentines," Scaloni said."From my part, it'll always be like that. I don't see anything negative. He's been in different conditions and has always been here. He's always been monumental for us, and now he will be even more. I see him well."Nico is the only player being monitored as Scaloni says there are no injured playersThe other key players the Argentina team might need are goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and Nico Paz, who are both recovering from injuries. The former had fractured his ring finger, while the latter suffered a knee injury. Scaloni assures the rest of the team is ready, but Nico has to be monitored. "I've always had difficulty [creating the starting 11] because of the quality of the players on the national team, beyond if we have an injured player, which is not the case now," Scaloni said."There are no injured players. We will just monitor the case of Nico Tagliafico, if he joins the team for training, but in principle, all players are available. I never had an inconvenience making the team. The inconvenience I did have was leaving behind great players, but equilibrium is a principle. We play with 11, and we try to find equilibrium, so someone is left out, but we are good," the manager stated.
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