Messi sits out Argentina’s pre-World Cup friendly due to hamstring strain

Lionel Messi sat out Argentina’s friendly match against Honduras as he continues to manage muscle fatigue and a mild strain in his left hamstring ahead of the upcoming World Cup.

Messi, who turns 39 in three weeks, was active after warming up with his teammates at Kyle Field on the campus of Texas A&M before the game on Saturday night. He stayed on the bench, though, watching from the sideline as Argentina won 2-0.

The team has said Messi’s recovery time will depend on “his clinical and functional progress.”

Messi was diagnosed with muscle fatigue in his left hamstring by his Major League Soccer (MLS) club Inter Miami after he made an abrupt exit from Miami’s 6-4 victory over Philadelphia in the 73rd minute late last month.

Argentina next play Iceland in Auburn, Alabama, on Tuesday in a final World Cup tune-up before resuming their training in Kansas City, where the the Albiceleste will begin their World Cup title defence against Algeria at the Arrowhead Stadium on June 16.

During workouts in Kansas City on Wednesday, Messi came to the practice field after the rest of the team and did some conditioning work off to the side.

Messi, who’s widely expected to retire from international football after the tournament, holds the record for most World Cup matches (26) and needs four more goals to surpass Germany’s Miroslav Klose’s World Cup record of 16.

Big guns win friendlies days before World Cup

Meanwhile, multi-champions Brazil and Germany also won their preparatory games, although by small margins, with former champions England and hopeful Portugal also securing victories.

The busy day of friendlies saw some of the biggest stars on display, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Vini Jr and Mohamed Salah playing.

Five-times champions Brazil beat Egypt 2-1 in Cleveland with Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes scoring early from inside the box and Lyon forward Endrick adding in the second half after an assist from Barcelona’s Raphinha. Zico scored for Egypt, while Salah played the first half and seemed to be in good form.

There was some drama with Brazil and AS Roma right back Wesley leaving the field in tears after what appeared to be a serious muscle injury in the left leg, which might take him out of the World Cup. Teams can change players up to one day before their first games.

Harry Kane’s first-half header earned England a 1-0 win over New Zealand in Tampa, while there were also victories for Scotland and Belgium as teams fine-tune ahead of the tournament’s kickoff next week.

With England manager Thomas Tuchel rotating his entire team at halftime and handing minutes to 22 players in the scorching 32-degree Celsius (89.6 F) heat, the result was secondary to the process.

But Kane’s clinical finish with a glancing header into the bottom corner from Djed Spence’s cross offered a timely reminder of the skipper’s importance to their hopes to win a second Cup.

Four-time world champions Germany secured a ninth win in a row with a 2-1 victory over World Cup cohosts United States (USA) in Chicago.

Kai Havertz headed in Joshua Kimmich’s free kick to give them a second-minute lead, but the Americans snatched a stunning equaliser when Antonee Robinson thundered in a volley after defender Jonathan Tah had headed away a corner.

But Leroy Sane rifled in from 12 metres to restore Germany’s lead in the 57th minute.

Portugal defeated Chile 2-1 in an ill-tempered clash in Oeiras where both teams finished with 10 men as Rafael Leao and Ivan Roman received their marching orders.

Goncalo Guedes gave the home side the lead before Bruno Fernandes added a second from outside the box. Lucas Cepeda scored a late consolation for Chile.

“We were superior in the 90 minutes, we managed to control the game very well, especially having a lot of the ball in the last third,” Fernandes told RTP.

Striker Romelu Lukaku continued his comeback from injury for Belgium with 25 minutes off the bench as they enjoyed a 5-0 victory over 10-man Tunisia in Brussels.

Leandro Trossard, Charles De Ketelaere, Kevin De Bruyne, Dodi Lukebakio and Nicolas Raskin scored the goals as Lukaku grabbed an assist.

“We wanted a good performance in front of our fans,” Belgium coach Rudi Garcia said. “It is a good preparation for the World Cup, we know this team can do great things.”

A much-changed Scotland scored all their goals in the first half as they romped to a 4-0 success over Bolivia in New Jersey.

Che Adams bagged two to go with strikes from Lawrence Shankland and Scott McTominay in an impressive performance.

Switzerland and Australia drew 1-1, while Bosnia and Herzegovina were held to the same scoreline by Panama.