Tag: Argentina

2023 World Cup: Getting to know Team Argentina

Meet Argentina’s women’s national team.

Ahead of the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, we here at For The Win are previewing some key teams to watch in this tournament. Next up is the Argentina women’s national team. You can see the full list of team previews and read about the USWNT here.

It’s World Cup time, and that means the top players in the world are getting ready for their sport’s biggest stage. The 2023 World Cup officially begins Thursday, July 20, including games featuring Australia and New Zealand, the two host countries.

Argentina, however, won’t play its first game in the group stage until Monday, July 24 against Italy. The team, nicknamed La Albiceleste, is looking to advance out of the group stage for the first time after losing a heartbreaker to England in 2019.

So as the tournament kicks off, here’s a look at what you need to know about Argentina in the 2023 World Cup.

World Cup team previews: Get to know 10 of the 2023 contenders (including USWNT, of course)

Rickea Jackson leads Team USA in scoring versus Argentina

Lady Vols’ Rickea Jackson leads Team USA in scoring versus Argentina.

Team USA defeated Argentina, 65-56, Sunday in the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup.

The contest took place at Domo de la Feria in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico.

Tennessee’s Rickea Jackson led Team USA in scoring (17) for a second consecutive game.

Jackson recorded five rebounds and one assist, while playing 28 minutes for Team USA. She converted 6-of-16 field goal attempts and 4-of-4 free throw attempts.

Tennessee’s Jewel Spear recorded nine points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal for Team USA versus Argentina. She converted 3-of-7 field goal attempts.

Team USA will next play Brazil Tuesday at 4:40 p.m. EDT.

PHOTOS: Kellie Harper through the years

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A tour of Argentina: Golf, steaks, the tango and so much more for Golfweek’s Best raters

From Buenos Aires to Patagonia, a group of Golfweek’s Best course raters take in some of the best golf, food and scenes in Argentina.

The song goes, “Don’t cry for me, Argentina.” But tears sure weren’t the reaction of a Golfweek’s Best group during those players’ first outing to South America.

For 26 raters, the 12-day trip to Argentina in March was filled with the fine tastes of Latin America, including fascinating sights, delightful food and drink, enchanting scenic tours and wonderful golf to boot. 

A 12-hour flight from the U.S. usually means arriving bleary-eyed and hopelessly jet-lagged, but flights south to Argentina are blessed with minimal lag as the South American time zones aren’t much different from those of the States. As a result, the course reviewers could hit the ground running.

Reaching Buenos Aires, raters were shuttled to their hotel in the Recoleta area of downtown, the base of operations for the first half of the trip. Walking tours and taking in the charming sights of the “Paris of Latin America” were the first order of business. 

Some raters took half-day cruises to nearby Tigre, enjoying antique shops, riverside restaurants and bars, casinos, amusement parks and open markets, where they were able to practice their bargaining skills. Then it was dinners and early bedtimes, as the first round of the trip awaited the eager golfers.

Messi celebrates Inter Miami move by scoring fastest goal of career

The Argentina star has ticked a new item off his ever-shrinking career checklist

Lionel Messi has accomplished a lot in his career, but it’s never too late to tick a few new items off his ever-shrinking checklist.

One of those new feats was accomplished on Thursday in Argentina’s 2-0 friendly win over Australia in China, as Messi scored within the first two minutes of a game for the first time in his career.

In the second minute of the game, Messi collected a pass near the top of the arc, evaded a defender and curled an unstoppable shot past Aussie goalkeeper Mathew Ryan.

The time on the clock was officially 1:19, marking the fastest goal Messi has ever scored. During his illustrious career, the 35-year-old has now scored in each possible minute of regulation — except for the first minute.

Messi’s goal came one week after announcing his intention to join Inter Miami in a milestone deal for the club and MLS. The signing is not yet finalized.

Messi will not travel with Argentina to Jakarta for Monday’s game against Indonesia as he and his family take time off before a move to the United States.

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Messi: I won’t play in the 2026 World Cup but also, maybe I will

The 35-year-old doesn’t appear ready to rule anything out

Lionel Messi won’t play in the 2026 World Cup, unless he changes his mind. In that case, he will.

That was basically the message that the superstar delivered to the media in China, where he is with the Argentina national team ahead of a friendly in Beijing on Thursday against Australia.

Messi has been pretty consistent over the last year, saying before, during and after the 2022 World Cup that the tournament in Qatar would be his last.

Although he basically reiterated that message on Tuesday, the 35-year-old did appear to leave open the possibility he would play at a tournament during which he’ll turn 39.

Asked by Chinese outlet Titan Sports if he’ll play in 2026, Messi answered: “I think not. This was my last World Cup. I’ll see how things go, but as it is right now, no, I won’t go to the next World Cup.”

The interpretation of Messi’s words depends on which part you focus on. Is it the “this was my last World Cup” part or the “I’ll see how things go” part?

There may now be an added incentive for Messi to play in three years: Having recently announced his intention to join Inter Miami, Messi could have something of a home World Cup if he’s still in MLS by the time the tournament hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada rolls around. Miami is even a host city.

Messi’s 2022 World Cup was the ideal way for him to bow out of the game’s biggest stage. But who’s to say that in three years if he’s still healthy and in form (admittedly big ifs), he won’t go for an encore.

His coach wants it. His teammates want it. The fans want it. Could it actually happen? Messi himself doesn’t look like he’s quite ready to rule it out just yet.

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Aguero to Messi: Making playoffs with Inter Miami will be tall order

Take it from Agüero: Messi’s walking into a tough spot

Lionel Messi’s move to Inter Miami isn’t even done yet, and the locals are already focused on the standings.

As Messi announced his intention to sign for the struggling MLS club on Wednesday, Miami sat at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.

Messi is, you know, Messi, but the fact is that he’s joining a club that has lost five straight in league play. The Herons fired head coach Phil Neville days before Messi said he wanted to join the team, while the club’s midfield has been gutted by injuries. Only three teams have scored fewer goals than the paltry 15 Miami has managed in 16 games so far this season.

That has left locals realistic about how difficult Messi’s task will be. Miami residents like Sergio Agüero took one look at the standings, and they knew it’s going to be a tough road ahead.

Wait…hold on. Sergio Agüero, like “Kun” Agüero?

Yes, Messi’s former Argentina teammate is now just a Miamian, living out his twilight years as so many retirees do in the south Florida sunshine. That leaves him with plenty of time to ponder things like how Inter Miami can make up the six-point gap between them and a playoff spot.

“He follows me everywhere,” Agüero joked in an interview with ESPN Argentina. “I sent him a message with a screenshot of the Eastern Conference standings and I said ‘Your team is behind! You have to move up to 8th [or] 9th!'”

Per the former Manchester City star, Messi’s reply was to laugh and say “We have to make the playoffs!”

Miami’s path to the MLS playoffs is tough

On one hand that means Messi already understands MLS, the league where finishing as one of the league’s top 18 teams can be used as an argument that a given season was a good one.

It could all end in a mid-week loss on the road against a team that lost 14 games, but in MLS, “we made the playoffs” is still league shorthand for “we aren’t embarrassingly bad.”

On the other, the odds are very much against Miami, even with Messi in the fold. For one, it’s not like he can help the cause any time soon. He’s not under contract yet, and even if he were to sign later on Friday, the Herons have at least four games to play before the transfer window opens, and two of them are on the road (where Miami is 1W-0D-6L this season) against the New England Revolution and Philadelphia Union, both strong opponents.

Even if we’re generous and assume that interim coach Javier Morales schemes up a way for Miami to get four points in those games (which is in line with their 0.94 points-per-game pace), it’s widely assumed that Messi won’t be actually suiting up until Miami’s Leagues Cup matches, or possibly even in August. That means two more league fixtures against teams currently in playoff position — at D.C. United and at St. Louis City SC — aren’t likely to involve Messi.

In other words, it’s likely that Miami will have roughly a dozen MLS matches left once Messi actually steps onto the field in pink and black, and are on course to have around 20 points or so by then. The playoff race in this league is forgiving — again, nine of the East’s 15 teams will be playoff teams — but it’s not that forgiving.

That set of games features a very mixed group of opponents. The bad news? Miami will play Nashville SC, Los Angeles FC, and FC Cincinnati, teams that would be favored to wipe the floor with the hapless pre-Messi Herons. They also have a U.S. Open Cup semifinal at Cincinnati that comes sandwiched mid-week between two league games, stretching an already thin roster.

The good news is that Miami will have some opportunities to quickly shift their circumstances. They play Charlotte FC (who hold the final playoff spot at the moment) twice, and have five more games against teams that currently sit outside the postseason places.

In other words, as much as Miami has placed so much hope on Messi (and possibly Sergo Busquets), a playoff place probably hinges on getting some wins in before their reinforcements arrive, and then going on a spectacular run in the season’s final weeks.

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Lionel Messi confirms he will join Inter Miami

It’s a landmark moment for MLS

In a landmark moment for MLS and North American soccer, Lionel Messi has confirmed he will move to Inter Miami.

The Argentine revealed his decision in an interview with Mundo Deportivo and Sport, saying that he had decided to join the MLS club, though the deal isn’t fully completed.

“I made the decision that I am going to go to Miami. I still haven’t completed it 100 percent. I’m missing some things but we decided to continue down this path,” the Argentina legend said.

The 35-year-old left PSG as a free agent after a two-year stay in Paris. Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal made Messi a lucrative offer, but he turned it down along with offers from other European teams.

Messi admitted he wanted to return to Barcelona but did not want to repeat his experience of two years ago, when he was forced to leave the club due to its financial problems.

“The truth is I obviously really wanted to [return to Barcelona], I was very excited to be able to return,” he said. “But on the other hand, after having experienced what I experienced and the exit I had, I did not want to be in the same situation again.”

After a return to Camp Nou never materialized, Messi said he looked toward the United States so he could live with more “peace of mind.”

“I had offers from other European teams but I didn’t even evaluate them because my idea was to go to Barcelona,” Messi said. “And if the Barcelona thing didn’t work out, then leaving European football after winning the World Cup was what I needed to do.

“Experiencing the United States league in a different way and enjoying the day to day, but with the same responsibility of wanting to win and always doing things well, but with more peace of mind.”

In a video posted to its social media channels, Inter Miami confirmed the move by taking the opportunity to dunk on everyone who said that the all-time great would never move to MLS.

Messi denies pact with Busquets and Alba

There has been speculation that Messi was aiming to bring his longtime teammates Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba with him to his next destination, which in recent months looked likely to be Saudi Arabia.

But Messi has denied those rumors after both Busquets and Alba left Barcelona as free agents following the season.

“That is one of the other things that was said, that I was going with Busi and Jordi to Arabia, that we already had everything arranged,” Messi said.

“No, each person looks out for own his future. Obviously, I was aware of them and what they were going to do, but we never agreed to go anywhere together. I made my decision for myself and I don’t know what they are going to do.”

MLS pulls out all the stops to land Messi

To land one of the all-time greats and compete with the riches on offer in Saudi Arabia, MLS had to throw the kitchen sink at Messi. And that is exactly what they did.

The Athletic reported that the league and Apple offered Messi a cut of the money generated by new subscribers to the league’s streaming package on Apple TV+.

Additionally, league partner Adidas offered Messi a profit-sharing agreement stemming from the expected increase in MLS merchandise sales.

Messi’s deal with Inter Miami also reportedly includes an option to purchase a percentage of an MLS team at a discounted rate — a similar clause to the one included in David Beckham’s deal with the LA Galaxy in 2007.

Beckham eventually used that clause to become a co-owner of Inter Miami.

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Oh my goodness Lionel Messi really looks like he’s coming to MLS

A landmark moment for Inter Miami and for MLS as a whole

Lionel Messi, perhaps the greatest player of all time, is reportedly coming to Major League Soccer.

According to the BBC, Messi has decided to join Inter Miami in a landmark deal for the team and the league. The Athletic reported that the deal was not done but “very close,” while Fabrizio Romano has given it the “here we go” treatment.

The 35-year-old was a free agent after spending two seasons in France with PSG, where he scored 32 goals in 75 games and won two Ligue 1 titles but ultimately fell short of the club’s ultimate goal, the Champions League.

Messi reportedly turned down a more lucrative offer from Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal while his former club Barcelona was unable to make a proposal due to ongoing financial difficulties.

The World Cup-winner would join a side in last place in the Eastern Conference, currently coached by Javier Morales on an interim basis after it sacked Phil Neville last week.

Reports out of Argentina have stated that Gerardo “Tata” Martino, Messi’s former coach at Barcelona and the national team, is being lined up as Inter Miami’s new manager. Martino is a free agent after last coaching Mexico’s national team, which he departed after the 2022 World Cup.

It is not clear when exactly Messi would join up with Inter Miami, but despite his age he is still undoubtedly still one of the world’s most effective attacking players.

MLS pulls out all the stops to land Messi

To land one of the all-time greats and compete with the riches on offer in Saudi Arabia, MLS had to throw the kitchen sink at Messi. And that is exactly what they did.

The Athletic reported that the league and Apple offered Messi a cut of the money generated by new subscribers to the league’s streaming package on Apple TV+.

Additionally, league partner Adidas offered Messi a profit-sharing agreement stemming from the expected increase in MLS merchandise sales.

Messi’s deal with Inter Miami also reportedly includes an option to purchase a percentage of an MLS team at a discounted rate — a similar clause to the one included in David Beckham’s deal with the LA Galaxy in 2007.

Beckham eventually used that clause to become a co-owner of Inter Miami.

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Apple TV has a Lionel Messi documentary series in the works

The series promises to feature “the most personal interviews to date” with the superstar

Apple TV+ has announced that it is developing a four-part documentary series featuring Lionel Messi.

The series, which currently doesn’t have a title or release date, will feature exclusive behind-the-scenes access with the Argentine superstar and follows him on his journey to lifting the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

A press release promises that the series will feature “the most personal interviews to date with Messi, alongside conversations with teammates, coaches, competitors, devout fans, and commentators testifying to the incredible influence and impact he has on a nation and world stage.”

The series followed Messi throughout the 2022 World Cup, from public events such as press conferences to private contemplative moments alone in his hotel room.

Filmed in Paris, Qatar and Argentina, the show will also document Messi’s journey with the Argentina national team — from a red card on his international debut, to an early retirement in 2016 followed by an immediate comeback and an eventual career-defining triumph in Qatar.

The series is executive produced by Emmy winner Tim Pastore (“Free Solo,” “Jane”), Emmy and Tony winners Patrick Milling Smith and Brian Carmody, and Emmy winner Matt Renner (“Free Solo,” “Limitless with Chris Hemsworth”) of Smuggler Entertainment, alongside Jon Henion (“Welcome to Wrexham”) and Juan Camilo Cruz (“In Her Hands”)

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Argentina IndyCar race ‘conceivable’ for 2024

The NTT IndyCar Series is making headway on holding a race in Argentina. “It’s a serious work in progress,” Penske Entertainment CEO Mark Miles told RACER. “It’s conceivable for 2024, but all the pieces are not yet in place.” RACER has confirmed a …

The NTT IndyCar Series is making headway on holding a race in Argentina.

“It’s a serious work in progress,” Penske Entertainment CEO Mark Miles told RACER. “It’s conceivable for 2024, but all the pieces are not yet in place.”

RACER has confirmed a post-season appearance at the Autódromo Termas de Río Hondo road course, which hosted a recent demonstration run by Juncos Hollinger Racing, is where the series has focused its attention.

“It is highly likely that it would be post-championship race, a non-points race,” Miles added. “I do think if we go, it will be an enormous event pulling in fans from much of South America. And it’s in a pretty good time zone from a U.S. television audience perspective. So it has a lot offer and we’ll see if we can get it done.”

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Juncos, the Autódromo Termas de Río Hondo circuit which has hosted the MotoGP series numerous times, local government, and private investors are working together to assemble the promotional funding package to bring the event closer to reality.

“The intentions are there,” Juncos said. “We had a great visit from Mark Miles and IndyCar and they were actually very impressed; it’s a top-level facility that holds big events like MotoGP so when you analyze the data and how they promoted it, how they do VIP for all these big motorcycle manufacturers with a high level of requirements, there is no doubt that IndyCar would be perfect for us.”

IndyCar’s only Argentinian team owner is also confident an event would draw fans from other countries.

“I know the fanaticism we have and we are growing the fan base of IndyCar with Latinos because not just the Argentinians are gonna be there; they come from Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Brazil,” Juncos added. “So we are working on the funding for this and looking for more partners to get it finished. If we can get it done, it would be a race after next year’s championship, then see how that goes, and if everybody is happy, then we’d like to make it a regular championship race. Nothing is 100 percent, but the progress is good.”

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