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Striker Lautaro Martinez, Lionel Messi's Argentina teammate, has picked up a trait he would like to have from Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior. Martinez hasn't played with either man for the same team but has come across them in club and international football.
Martinez, who plays for Serie A leaders Inter Milan, sustained a thigh injury in training while on Argentina duty during the recent international break. As per Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sempre Inter), the 27-year-old missed the world champions' 4-1 home win over arch-rivals Brazil in midweek.
The Albiceleste - who were also without Messi - made light work of the five-time champions, with Julian Alvarez and Enzo Fernandez putting them 2-0 ahead inside 12 minutes. Although Matheus Cunha pulled one back 14 minutes later, Lionel Scaloni's side scored either side of the break to complete a thumping win.
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Meanwhile, as per Madrid Xtra, Martinez talked about the skills he would like to pick from Real Madrid strikers Mbappe and Vinicius, with the latter featuring in the aforementioned game.
“Mbappe? Speed”
“Vinicius? Dribbling”
Bolivia's goalless home draw with Uruguay meant that the Albiceleste punched their ticket to the 2026 World Cup even before taking the field against Brazil. Messi and Co. will look to emulate their arch-rivals and Italy as the only teams to go back-to-back at the quadrennial event.
How has Lionel Messi fared for Argentina during their successful FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign?
Lionel Messi has had a stop-start 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign for Argentina. Nevertheless, the 37-year-old has made his mark whenever he has been available.
The record eight-time Ballon d'Or winner missed his team's 4-1 win over Brazil in midweek due to a 'minor muscle injury'. He had also not featured in the hard-fought 1-0 win over Uruguay a few days earlier.
Nevertheless, Messi has left his mark in his team's successful qualifying campaign as he looks set to appear in what could be his World Cup swansong in the USA, Mexico and Canada next year.
In eight games, he has contributed five goals and three assists, with three of those strikes and two assists coming in a rousing 6-0 home win over Bolivia in October last year.
