"Always speaking through football" - Lionel Messi sends message to Argentina squad as they defeat Brazil and Uruguay in his absence

Lionel Messi wrote a message for his Argentina teammates after they secured victories against Uruguay and Brazil in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The legendary forward missed both games owing to a muscle injury.

Argentina officially qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after their two victories against Uruguay (March 21) and Brazil (March 25) this week. La Albiceleste won 1-0 against Uruguay, while they demolished Brazil 4-1 during the Super Clásico. They finished at the top of the CONMEBOL qualifying nations table, with 31 points from 14 games.

After the clash against Brazil, Lionel Messi took to his Instagram story to share a message for his compatriots. He wrote (translation from Spanish via Google):

"Inside, outside, wherever it may be with this National Team. Always SPEAKING through football. Congratulations on the great match you played last night and also on the victory against Uruguay."

Messi's statements seemingly alluded to Brazil forward Raphinha's pre-match statements against Argentina where he claimed he would beat them up and score against them. He said:

"We are going to beat them up on and off the pitch if necessary. I am going to score. They can f**k themselves! In Argentina, you have to hit them, it hurts! They're b*tches."

Raphinha failed to deliver on his promise, as he had a mediocre outing with zero shots on target in the Super Clasico. It is worth noting that the Brazilian forward currently plays for Lionel Messi's boyhood side, Barcelona.

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"We might have scored 2/3 more goals" - Julian Alvarez makes bold declaration about Lionel Messi after Argentina's 4-1 win over Brazil

Messi and Alvarez (L to R) - Source: Getty

In a post-match press conference after Argentina thrashed Brazil 4-1 on Tuesday, Julian Alvarez claimed they could have scored more against their arch-rivals with Lionel Messi in the starting XI.

He said (via SPORTBible):

"Maybe with Leo Messi on the pitch we might have scored 2/3 more goals."

Despite their convincing win, Lionel Messi was clearly missed by his compatriots during the Super Clásico. The Argentine superstar shared a story on Instagram of himself watching the game and cheering for his national team despite his unavailability.

Given Messi's injury concerns, it is unclear when he will return to the pitch for Inter Miami or the national team. The legendary forward last player for Inter Miami in their 2-1 win in the MLS against Atlanta FC (March 16), where he scored once.

However, he last sported a La Albiceleste shirt during their 1-0 win over Peru during the World Cup qualifiers in November 2024. Despite being included in the Argentina squad for the March qualifier games, Messi had to be excluded due to his muscle injury he picked up during the Herons' last game against Atlanta.