Lionel Messi is scheduled to participate in at least two more matches with the Argentine national team, the current World Cup champion and two-time Copa America titleholder, later this month.

Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni has officially included Messi in the national team roster for the qualifiers of the 2026 World Cup, as announced on Wednesday.

Argentina’s first match will be against Venezuela at Estadio Monumental de Maturín in Maturín, Venezuela, on October 10 at 5 p.m. ET. Following that, they will play Bolivia at Estadio Mâs Monumental in Buenos Aires on October 15 at 8 p.m. ET.

This news comes as Messi and his MLS team, Inter Miami, gear up to face the reigning champions, Columbus Crew, in a match that could determine the winner of the MLS Supporters’ Shield later tonight in Columbus, Ohio.

Both Inter Miami and the Argentina squad anticipated that Messi would rejoin the national team during the October FIFA international window after missing two matches in September to recover from a right ankle injury sustained during the Copa America, including a farewell tribute for Angel Di Maria on September 5.

Argentina secured a 3-0 victory over Chile on September 6, but suffered a 2-1 defeat against Colombia on September 10, a rematch of the Copa America final. This loss marked only the fourth defeat for Argentina in their last 65 matches, with prior losses occurring against Brazil in the Copa America 2019 semifinals, against Saudi Arabia in the opening match of the 2022 World Cup, and against Uruguay in the qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup last November.

Argentina will have two more matches in November during a FIFA window, which will fall between the first round and conference semifinals of the MLS Cup Playoffs.

This raises the question: Could Messi participate for Argentina during Inter Miami’s MLS Cup run? That is something that will need to be addressed next month. Meanwhile, everyone is hopeful that Messi stays fit.

After their game against Columbus, Inter Miami will head to Toronto FC for a match on Saturday. This will mark Messi’s second game in Canada and the second-to-last match of the regular MLS season.

Before facing Venezuela, the Argentine national team is expected to train at Inter Miami’s facilities, similar to their preparations before the Copa America started earlier this summer, which means Messi won’t have to travel far to reconnect with his teammates.

The regular MLS season for Inter Miami concludes on October 19 with a home game against New England Revolution.