Tag: Messi

• England’s  Lionesses dominate women’s World 11

Six players from Champions League winners Real Madrid and four from Manchester City feature in this year’s FIFPRO World 11 announced on Monday by the global players’ association, with Lionel Messi absent for the first time in almost 20 years.

The 2024 FIFPRO World 11 is the first edition since 2006 to exclude Messi. The Argentinian, who holds the all-time record with 17 selections, was replaced in the front row by Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr.

Jude Bellingham topped the men’s overall voting, with the Real Madrid and England midfielder receiving 11,176 selections from his peers.

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk was the sole player outside of Real and City included in the men’s team of the year.

Meanwhile, five England players have been included in the Fifpro women’s World 11 team.

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Chelsea defender Lucy Bronze has been selected for a seventh time – equalling the current women’s appearance record she shares with France’s Wendie Renard.

Fellow defender Alex Greenwood, goalkeeper Mary Earps, midfielder Keira Walsh and forward Lauren James were the other Lionesses chosen by their fellow professionals.

Brazilian star Marta makes her return to the team of the year for the first time since 2021, while Zambia and Orlando Pride striker Barbra Banda, the BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year 2024, becomes the first African player to be included.

Spanish trio Olga Carmona, Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmati – who won the women’s Ballon d’Or for the second year in a row in October – and Colombia forward Linda Caicedo complete the line-up.

The Fifpro World 11 award is voted for solely by fellow professional footballers with a record-breaking 7,000 women’s football players casting their vote.

MEN’S WORLD 11

Goalkeeper: Ederson (Manchester City, Brazil)

Defenders: Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid, Spain), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool, Netherlands), Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid, Germany)

Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid , England), Kevin De Bruyne (City, Belgium), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid, Germany), Rodri (City, Spain)

Forwards: Erling Haaland (City, Norway), Kylian Mbappe(Paris St Germain/Real Madrid, France), Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid, Brazil)

WOMEN’S WORLD 11

Goalkeeper: Mary Earps (Manchester United/Paris St Germain, England)

Defenders: Lucy Bronze (Barcelona/Chelsea, England), Olga Carmona (Real Madrid, Spain), Alex Greenwood (City, England)

Midfielders: Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona, Spain), Alexia Putellas (Barcelona, Spain), Keira Walsh (Barcelona, England)

Forwards: Barbra Banda (Shanghai Shengli/Orlando Pride, Zambia), Linda Caicedo (Real Madrid, Colombia),Lauren James (Chelsea, England), Marta (Orlando Pride, Brazil)

Argentina have been boosted by the return of captain Lionel Messi for their CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers against Venezuela and Bolivia, the country’s football association said, after the 37-year-old recovered from an ankle injury.

Messi, who plays for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami, was left out of Argentina’s squad for their World Cup Qualifiers against Chile and Colombia in August due to the injury which he sustained during the Copa America final.

Argentina beat Colombia 1-0 to win a record 16^th  Copa America title.

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Goalkeepers – Geronimo Rulli, Juan Musso, Walter Benitez

Defenders – Gonzalo Montiel, Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Leonardo Balerdi, German Pezzella, Nicolas Otamendi, Lisandro Martinez, Marcos Acuna, Nicolas Tagliafico

Midfielders – Leandro Paredes, Alexis Mac Allister, Rodrigo De Paul, Exequiel Palacios, Enzo Fernandez, Giovani Lo Celso, Thiago Almada

Forwards – Alejandro Garnacho, Nicolas Gonzalez, Nico Paz, Paulo Dybala, Lionel Messi, Lautaro Martinez, Julian Alvarez and Valentin Carboni

After missing nearly two months with an ankle injury, Lionel Messi is officially back and ready to compete for minutes on the pitch with Inter Miami, manager Tata Martino confirmed to media Friday.

The Argentine has not played for the Herons since June 1, after leaving the club for Copa America 2024 with Argentina. On July 15, In the final match of the tournament, he suffered an ankle sprain that kept him out of the MLS All-Star game and the 2024 Leagues Cup.

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“He’s fine,” Martino said when asked about Messi’s fitness. “Yesterday he returned to training. He is contemplated for tomorrow’s game and after training we will define the strategy for him, but he is available. We are going to once again have the best player in the world within the team so we are all happy about that situation.”

There was concern that Messi would be sidelined this weekend due to a minor illness he picked up earlier this week that saw him miss training on Wednesday, but the manager confirmed it’s a non-issue heading into the weekend.

Lionel Messi has been left off the latest Argentina national team roster for the September CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Colombia as he continues to recover from the ankle injury suffered during the Copa América final this past July.

Messi hurt his right ankle in the first half of the final and attempted to play through the pain before being forced off the field in the 66th minute.

Inter Miami CF announced the player suffered ligament damage and would be out indefinitely as he continues to recover.

The forward has yet to make an appearance on the field or train since the final, completing gym work separately for the time being.

Now, Argentina national team head coach Lionel Scaloni will depend on others as La Albiceleste host Chile on Sept. 5 in Buenos Aires and travel to Bogotá to confront Colombia on Sept. 10.

Argentina currently lead the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers with 15 points from six games played, most recently defeating Brazil 1-0 on Nov. 21, 2023.

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Colombia sit in third place on the standings with 12 points, while Chile struggle in eighth with just five points.

The top six CONMEBOL teams will earn direct qualification to the 2026 World Cup co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, while the seventh place advance to an additional playoff round for a chance to secure a slot.

Scaloni will also be without Ángel Di María, after he announced his retirement ahead of the Copa América campaign. The coach included Julián Álvarez, Nicolas Gonzalez and Lautaro Martínez as his attacking options in the latest squad.

Argentina squad:

Goalkeepers: Emiliano Martínez, Gerónimo Rulli, Walter Benítez and Juan Musso.

Defenders: Gonzalo Montiel, Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martínez, Nicolás Otamendi, Germán Pezzella, Leonardo Balerdi, Nicolás Tagliafico and Valentín Barco.

Midfielders: Rodrigo De Paul, Alexis Mac Allister, Leandro Paredes, Enzo Fernández, Giovani Lo Celso, Guido Rodríguez and Ezequiel Fernández.

Forwards: Nicolás González, Lautaro Martínez, Alejandro Garnacho, Julián Álvarez, Matìas Soulè, Valentin Carboni, Giuliano Simeone and Valentín Castellanos.

Argentina’s Lionel Messi  has returned to training as they prepare to face Ecuador in the Copa America quarter-finals in Houston this week.

Messi had not trained since sustaining a groin/thigh injury during his side’s 1-0 win against Chile on June 25. He sat out Argentina’s 2-0 victory over Peru on Saturday.

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The Argentine football federation said the 37-year-old did some kinesiology work before training and was with the rest of the group afterwards.

Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi headlined the list of 30 players named yesterday  for this month’s MLS All-Star Game in Columbus, Ohio, against top talent from Mexico’s LIGA MX.

For Messi, who is in his first full season with Inter Miami after joining the club in July 2023, this marks his debut on a Major League Soccer All-Star roster.

The 37-year-old, currently playing with Argentina at the Copa America, is joined on the roster by fellow Miami players Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.

Overall, 18 Major League Soccer clubs are represented on the roster, led by Columbus Crew (five) and Inter Miami (four).

The roster was assembled through a mixture of 12 fan, player and media votes, 16 selections from MLS All-Star head coach Wilfried Nancy of host team, Columbus, and two picks from MLS Commissioner Don Garber.

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Messi, who had a magical start in MLS last season, has enjoyed continued success this term with 12 goals and 13 assists in his first 12 games of 2024, making him the quickest to 25 goal contributions in a season.

Messi and his Miami team mates were all voted in while Garber used his picks on Hector Herrera (Houston Dynamo) and Darlington Nabe (Columbus).

The All-Star Game will be played at 8 p.m. ET (0000 GMT) on July 24.

The anticipated visit of Lionel Messi to Gillette Stadium next month is set to break the New England Revolution’s long-standing single-game attendance record with over 60,000 tickets already sold for the matchup with Inter Miami, New England has announced .

Less than 5,000 tickets remain for the April 27 MLS clash, the Revs said. The figure is well on track to surpass the club’s previous attendance record of 61,316 set for the 2002 MLS Cup, when New England hosted the LA Galaxy.

The previous regular-season attendance record for a Revolution home game dates back to 1997, when New England hosted the Tampa Bay Mutiny in a doubleheader with a World Cup qualifying match between Mexico and the United States.

Gillette Stadium, which also hosts six-time Super Bowl winners the New England Patriots, opened in 2002. The record for a Revolution regular-season match at the stadium was 42,947 in 2015.

Last season, the Patriots’ average home attendance in the NFL was 63,018.

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Despite fans clamoring for tickets to see Messi in Foxborough, it remains to be seen whether the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner will actually appear.

Messi, 36, has missed Inter Miami’s last two MLS matchups, as well as sitting out two recent Argentina friendlies in the U.S., because of a hamstring injury.

Miami manager Gerardo “Tata” Martino has said Messi is being evaluated week to week after being forced off in the club’s Concacaf Champions Cup second leg against Nashville SC on March 13. He has stated that the goal is to get Messi fit for Miami’s Champions Cup quarterfinal matchups with Mexico’s Monterrey on April 3 and April 10.

It would not be the first time that an MLS team has sold a huge quantity of tickets to fans expecting to watch the World Cup winner, only for him to be left off Miami’s team sheet.

Last season, with Messi looking set to miss out through injury, the Chicago Fire offered the more than 61,000 ticketed fans a $250 account credit “toward new memberships for the 2024 season — or a $50 account credit for anyone unable to use the new member credit — to all single-game ticket buyers” as an incentive to still show up to Soldier Field.

Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi played 30 minutes of a friendly match in Japan, days after his no-show in a similar match sparked fury in Hong Kong.

The Argentine superstar came in for the tail end of a goalless draw with Vissel Kobe in Tokyo yesterday , which his team lost 4-3 on penalties.

He started on the bench for the pre-season game against J-League side Kobe, worrying 28,614 spectators at the National Stadium, who chanted “Messi, Messi” in sporadic attempts to coax out the 36-year-old.

They began to sense their good fortune early in the second half, when the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner and other substitutes began warming up.

The moment came around the hour mark, when the World Cup-winning captain replaced David Ruiz, sending the crowd into a moment of roaring frenzy that was followed by passionate cheers at his every touch.

In the 79th  minute, he dribbled solo into the Kobe box and fired a close-range shot that was saved by goalkeeper Shota Arai.

After the game, Miami coach Gerardo Martino said the decision to use Messi was made Tuesday afternoon.

 “In the training yesterday afternoon, he said he was feeling good. We decided then that he would play for 30 minutes,” Martino said.

That was good enough to please many fans who braved winter cold to attend the night game.

 “Absolutely extraordinary,” said Hiroto Hori, 45, of the star. “I witnessed the moment when a single player changed the direction of the game.”

Others echoed the feeling.

 “It (the game) was quiet at the beginning, but Messi changed it totally,” said Yuta Tanaka, 30.

Vissel had also showed promise, especially early in the match with former Japan international striker Yuya Osako hitting the post 15 minutes into the game.

A minute later, Osako struck the woodwork again. Messi did not take a kick in the shootout, which Kobe won.

The game stood in sharp contrast with Sunday when Messi and the team’s co-owner David Beckham were booed by tens of thousands of fans in Hong Kong after the star did not play in a friendly, citing injury.

During a press event in Tokyo on Tuesday, Messi said his leg injury was improving but refused to say whether he would play in the Tokyo game.

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Tickets for the Japan leg of the US Major League Soccer (MLS) club’s globe-trotting pre-season tour cost between 10,000 yen ($68) and 200,000 yen ($1,346) with “special experience” packages priced even higher.

On Sunday in Hong Kong, a crowd of nearly 40,000 who paid for similarly expensive tickets were involved in angry scenes after Messi stayed rooted to the bench during his side’s 4-1 win against a Hong Kong select XI.

The Hong Kong government demanded an explanation from the match’s organisers, who had sought public funding for the event.

Miami have one more friendly, at home to Argentina’s Newell’s Old Boys next week, before the new MLS season starts on February 21.