Messi ruled out of Argentina's WC qualifiers

Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi will miss Argentina's World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Brazil, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) said on Monday, reported Xinhua.

The 37-year-old was absent from the Albiceleste's 26-man squad despite playing a full 90 minutes and scoring a sublime goal in Inter Miami's 2-1 win at Atlanta United in the MLS on Sunday.

Local media reported that Messi suffered a left adductor strain during the match, ruling him out of Argentina's fixtures against Uruguay (away) on Friday and Brazil (home) four days later.

Albiceleste manager Lionel Scaloni also cut Paulo Dybala (Roma), Giovani Lo Celso (Real Betis) and Gonzalo Montiel (River Plate) from a preliminary list of 33 players announced earlier this month.

Argentina currently leads the 10-team South American zone qualifying standings with 25 points from 12 games, five points clear of second-placed Uruguay.

Argentina squad:

Goalkeepers: Emiliano Martinez, Geronimo Rulli, Walter Benitez.

Defenders: Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, German Pezzella, Leonardo Balerdi, Juan Foyth, Nicolas Otamendi, Facundo Medina, Nicolas Tagliafico.

Midfielders: Leandro Paredes, Enzo Fernandez, Rodrigo De Paul, Exequiel Palacios, Alexis Mac Allister, Maximo Perrone, Giuliano Simeone, Benjamin Dominguez, Thiago Almada.

Forwards: Nicolas Gonzalez, Nicolas Paz, Julian Alvarez, Lautaro Martinez, Santiago Castro, Angel Correa.