With the 2026 MLS season already underway, questions are being raised about when Argentina and Inter Miami star Lionel Messi will play his next game. Lionel Messi is still making history at 38 years old, remaining a cornerstone and captain for both Inter Miami and the Argentina national team. With the 2026 Major League Soccer season now underway, fans are wondering when they’ll see the forward back in action. Lionel Messi’s next match with Inter Miami is scheduled for Saturday, September 12, when the Herons host Nashville SC at Nu Stadium for the 2026 MLS. The Argentine star heads to the game after delivering an assist and be the first player to reach 1,350 goal contributions in the 1-1 draw against Chicago Fire. As for his next game with Argentina, there is no game scheduled yet, but the next matchups will be in the upcoming extended international break in September-October. Still, Lionel Messi has already announced his retirement from the national team, marking the end of an era at the Albiceleste. During the World Cup, Messi featured in all eight matches for Argentina scoring eigth goals to cement his legacy as the second all-time top scorer in the torunament with 21 career World Cup goals. As for the 2026 MLS campaign, Messi has featured in 21 official matches so far across all competitions for Inter Miami, scoring 18 goals with 11 assist registered thus far. Lionel Messi #10 of Inter Miami CF during the MLS match against LAFC. Lionel Messi and the task of defending the World Cup title The year 2026 will be especially significant for Messi, not only because of Inter Miami’s ambitions but also because he’ll head into the 2026 World Cup aiming to defend the title. The triumph in Qatar in 2022 marked one of the defining peaks of his career, and now in North America he’ll enter another tournament wearing the champions’ badge for the first time. Drawn into Group J, Argentina will open its campaign against Algeria on Tuesday, June 16, in Kansas City at Arrowhead Stadium. The second match will be against Austria on Monday the 22nd in Arlington at AT&T Stadium, before closing the group stage against Jordan on Saturday the 27th, also in Texas. The Argentina FA has announced that the national team will base itself in Kansas City during the tournament, though training facilities have yet to be confirmed. Expected to be his final World Cup appearance, Messi will have a chance to add to his record haul with a squad coached by Lionel Scaloni that remains one of the strongest in international soccer after winning the last World Cup and back-to-back Copa América titles.
Mauricio Pochettino believes Chelsea should be stripped of the Premier League title for 2016-17, when his Tottenham team finished runners-up. This is about Chelsea making £47m in secret payments, according to a Premier League investigation, to unregistered agents and third parties to seal transfers between 2011 and 2018. The transfers included Eden Hazard, Samuel Eto'o, Willian, Ramires, David Luiz, Andre Schurrle and Nemanja Matic.
Sunderland and Arsenal will meet at the Stadium of Light on Saturday evening, as both sides continue their 2026/27 Premier League campaign. Sunderland has taken four points from their first three league matches, while defending champion Arsenal comes into the game with a perfect nine points. Verdict: Arsenal to win Best odds: 27/50 Bookmaker: 1xBet […] The post Prediction: Sunderland vs Arsenal appeared first on SoccerNews.
Former Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino thinks the Blues got off lightly (Picture:Getty Images) Mauricio Pochettino believes Chelsea should be stripped of the 2016-17 Premier League title and it should be handed to Tottenham Hotspur. The Argentine, who went on to manage Chelsea, was in charge of Spurs at the time as they finished second, seven points adrift of Antonio Conte’s Blues. Conte’s side finished with 93 points, led by Diego Costa up front and a fabulous season from Eden Hazard behind him, while the likes of N’Golo Kante, Gary Cahill and David Luiz all made the PFA Team of the Year. However, it has since been tainted as Chelsea’s owners, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, self-reported 74 breaches of FA rules related to secret payments to unregistered agents after they purchased the club from Roman Abramovich in 2022. Sign up for In The Mixer, Metro's football newsletter Get exclusive analysis and previews of the biggest games every Friday. Sign up now for free. Chelsea admitted to making £47m in secret payments to unregistered agents and intermediaries between 2011 and 2018. Deals for the likes of Hazard, Luiz, Willian and Nemanja Matic were all found to have broken rules. After an initial punishment included a points deduction, on appeal Chelsea were fined £10 million and given a suspended two-window transfer ban by the Football Association over the summer. Pochettino left after one season in charge of Chelsea (Picture: Getty Images) Pochettino feels that the punishment should extend beyond this and Chelsea should not be considered champions in 2017 as they broke rules to win the Premier League. Instead, his Tottenham team should be awarded the title. ‘We should win one Premier League, we should have been awarded it,’ said Pochettino. ‘If that was true, then we deserve to be champions that year, for sure. They were punished, they admitted it? So that’s it. The title should be for the team that was second. ‘We can say that they scored goals, they won games. OK. But it’s completely fair to say that we didn’t compete before the start of the season with the same card. Maybe with the same rules, we could’ve signed some players that would have made the team better or scored more goals.’ Eden Hazard was key to Chelsea’s success in 2016/17 (Picture: Getty Images) While the Blues had plenty of world class players at the time, it was suggested to Pochettino that Hazard made a particular difference. ‘Maybe yes,’ said the USA manager. ‘I have no doubt and I’m not scared to say the truth. The Chelsea fans will be upset with me. But if we were at Tottenham and broke the rules, I’d admit the same: “We don’t deserve the title because we broke the rules.” ‘It’s impossible if only some clubs play with offside and another plays with no offside. Or one plays with VAR and another plays with no VAR. For everyone it needs to be the same rules. And then you have the capacity to create the best team. ‘I don’t say that Chelsea didn’t play well, that Conte was not great. I don’t say that. I don’t want the message to be twisted. But if you broke the rules then ciao – you need to give it to another team. ‘I don’t know why that didn’t happen. What is being promoted and incentivised is to break the rules. If you don’t punish in the way that you need to punish, I say: “Yeah … I lost my job [at Spurs] because we didn’t win a title.”’ Pochettino was in charge of Spurs from May 2014-November 2019 and went on to manage Chelsea for one season in 2023/24. FA statement on Chelsea punishment An FA statement in July read: ‘A financial sanction of £10m and a suspended two-window registration ban have been imposed on Chelsea FC for breaches of the Football Association Football Agent Regulations, Regulations on Working with Intermediaries and Third Party Investment in Players Regulations. The FA charged Chelsea FC with 74 breaches of FA Rule E1.2 after its current ownership self-reported misconduct upon its purchase of the club. The FA is continuing to inve
Lionel Scaloni could end up following Lionel Messi's decision to leave Argentina national team as reports claim that his contract renewal has taken a U-turn. Securing Lionel Scaloni‘s long-term future as Argentina‘s head coach has emerged as the primary mandate for the Argentine Football Association (AFA) as preparations begin for the 2030 World Cup cycle. However, the manager could follow Lionel Messi out the door, as reports indicate extension talks have hit an unexpected impasse. Lionel Messi’s announcement of his retirement from the national team caught football executives off guard, concluding a 21-year international tenure with the Albiceleste. Scaloni remains under contract through December 2026 and intends to honor that agreement, but his willingness to commit beyond that date remains in question. According to reporting from Argentine insider Veronica Brunatti, Scaloni signaled to AFA president Claudio Tapia that he is experiencing fatigue from the demands of managing the national team. While federation executives remain eager to lock him into a long-term agreement, negotiations regarding his future remain on hold. The manager’s uncertainty aligns with two pivotal shifts: Messi’s international exit and Argentina‘s recent loss in the 2026 World Cup final. Navigating the departure of the program’s defining icon while phasing out veterans to initiate a new cycle toward 2030 presents a daunting mental workload for Scaloni, whose deep emotional bond with his core group has been well-documented throughout his tenure. #SelecciónMayor Se cumplen ocho años desde la llegada de Lionel Scaloni a la Selección Argentina.🚍 Ocho años de #Scaloneta y de siempre pelear arriba.🏆 Cuatro títulos, entre ellos la máxima gesta en Qatar 2022 🌎🙌 Ocho años de trabajo, pasión y gloria. pic.twitter.com/8AavEHhPvz— 🇦🇷 Selección Argentina ⭐⭐⭐ (@Argentina) September 7, 2026 On Monday, September 7, Scaloni completed eight full years in charge of the national team, a milestone acknowledged across AFA’s official media channels. Reporting from TyC Sports and journalist Gaston Edul confirms that while formal contract extension negotiations have not officially opened, Scaloni is fully aware of AFA’s intent to keep him at the helm. Argentina coaching staff member on the brink of leaving While serving as the public face of Argentina’s tactical renaissance, Scaloni has frequently credited his supporting staff, comprising former national team icons Pablo Aimar, Roberto Ayala, and Walter Samuel, with shaping the culture behind the country’s recent championship run. Now, one of those key pillars is preparing to depart. According to Brunatti, assistant coach Walter Samuel has made the decision to pursue a head coaching career. The former Inter Milan central defender sees his contract expire alongside Scaloni’s in December 2026, and he intends to seek his first senior managerial role in Europe following eight years on Argentina’s bench. As a respected defensive strategist, Samuel oversaw set-piece preparation and defensive organization for the national team. With Scaloni set to lose a key pillar of his brain trust, questions surrounding his own willingness to lead Argentina into the 2030 cycle continue to intensify.
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