Messi a doubtful starter for Argentina; Vinicius back with Brazil for World Cup qualifying

SAO PAULO: Lionel Messi is again a doubtful starter for Argentina in the next World Cup qualifying match against Paraguay.

The Argentina captain scored in the opening 1-0 win over Ecuador but skipped the 3-0 win at Bolivia last month because of muscular pains that have also sidelined him from several matches for Inter Miami in the MLS.

The World Cup champions are due to host Paraguay on Thursday at Buenos Aires.

Vinicius Jr. missed Brazil’s first two games in South American qualifying but is back in the starting lineup after recovering from an injury.

Argentina and Brazil are 2-0 in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup after victories last month. The continental archrivals are due to meet in November.

Colombia are in third spot in the 10-team standings with four points. Uruguay and Venezuela each have three points, followed by Paraguay, Peru and Chile with one point each.

Ecuador have not registered a competition point despite their 2-1 win over Uruguay on Sept. 13. Ecuador started the qualifying tournament at -3 after having points deducted by FIFA for the falsification of birth information of defender Byron Castillo, who is of Colombian origin.

The next World Cup in the US, Mexico and Canada is expanding to a 48-team format, meaning direct entry to the top six teams in South America. The seventh-place team will contest an intercontinental playoff for a berth.

Elsewhere, there were celebrations for Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay after FIFA’s decision to award the three countries the opening matches of the 2030 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco.

ARGENTINA vs. PARAGUAY

The 36-year-old Messi missed four MLS matches for his club plus the US Open Cup final. He played 10 minutes on