Messi and entire Argentina squad have passport details leaked in pre-World Cup security blunder

Lionel Messi and every member of Argentina’s squad had their passport numbers accidentally exposed in an official team sheet distributed ahead of their 3-0 friendly victory over Iceland at the Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama, on Tuesday — just days before the World Cup begins.

The document, issued by teams to match officials roughly an hour before kick-off, normally has passport numbers blurred before release to the media. That step was skipped when Lionel Scaloni’s side faced Iceland, and the unredacted sheet — listing all 11 starters and substitutes, including Messi, Lisandro Martinez and Enzo Fernandez — was subsequently reproduced by several local media organisations. Iceland did not include passport numbers on their own team sheet and were unaffected.

The match was organised by Road to ‘26, a company that has arranged a series of warm-up fixtures ahead of the tournament, which officially opens on Thursday 12 June.

On the pitch, Argentina offered encouraging signs for their title defence. Messi came off the bench in the 70th minute, immediately winning and converting a penalty to make it 2-0, before playing a role in the third goal with a pass to Rodrigo de Paul, who assisted Thiago Almada’s finish. Valentin Barco had opened the scoring.

The appearance will have eased concerns over Messi’s fitness after the 38-year-old picked up a hamstring injury while playing for Inter Miami just over a fortnight before the tournament. He looked sharp and moved freely throughout his cameo.

“I’m happy, enjoying every moment, and excited as always,” Messi said after the game. “I felt really good; I wanted to get going and shake off the lingering fears that come with an injury — to be able to play freely. We have a week left to get everyone in top shape and be ready for the opener.”

Argentina, among the favourites to defend the 2022 title they won in Qatar, do not open their World Cup campaign until Wednesday 18 June, when they face Algeria in a Group J fixture in Kansas City.