PSG forward Lionel Messi called up by Argentina

PSG forward and Argentine world champion Lionel Messi has been called up by head coach Lionel Scaloni for the first-team squad of the South American nation ahead of their two Asian friendlies against Australia (scheduled for kick-off on June 15 in Beijing) and Indonesia (June 19th in Jakarta).

After conquering their third World Cup last December led by Messi, Argentina will keep touring the globe after their triumphal return to their homeland back in March for a pair of matchups that saw still-PSG-player Messi bag his 800th goal for club and country in a 2-0 victory over Panama.

Messi appeared in another game five days after the meeting with Panama, putting three goals past Curacao and assisting another one through 90 more minutes of play. It marked his return to any international football pitch following Argentina's World Cup victory over France in the 2022 Qatar WC final back on Dec. 18th.

Messi returns to the senior squad to play two more friendlies this month while he waits to bring an end to his tenure in Paris, with his contract running out by the end of June and no real expectations of PSG extending his deal past this month.

Argentina National Team full squad for mid-June games

Goalkeepers
Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa, ENG),
Gerónimo Rulli (Ajax, NED)
Walter Benítez (PSV Eindhoven, NED)

Defenders
Nahuel Molina (Atletico de Madrid, SPA)
Gonzalo Montiel (FC Séville, SPA)
Marcos Acuna (FC Séville, SPA)
German Pezzella (Real Betis, SPA)
Cristian Romero (Tottenham, ENG)
Leonardo Balerdi (Marseille, FRA)
Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica, POR)
Facundo Medina (Lens, FRA)
Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon, FRA)

Midfielders 
Leandro Paredes (Juventus, ITA)
Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea, ENG)
Guido Rodriguez (Real Betis, SPA)
Rodrigo de Paul (Atletico de Madrid, SPA)
Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen, GER)
Alexis MacAllister (Brighton, ENG)
Thiago Almada (Atlanta United, USA)
Giovani Lo Celso (Villarreal, SPA)
Lucas Ocampos (FC Séville, SPA)

Forwards
Angel Di Maria (Juventus, ITA)
Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain, FRA)
Julian Alvarez (Manchester City, ENG)
Giovanni Simeone (Naples, ITA)
Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United, ENG)
Nicolas Gonzalez (Fiorentina, ITA)