FIFA favors Messi

FIFA is said to have provided special conditions for Lionel Messi and the Argentina national team to play against Guatemala, after the Finalissima was canceled.

After the 2026 Finalissima was officially canceled, Lionel Messi's Argentina national team confirmed they will have a friendly match against Guatemala on March 31 in Buenos Aires. Initially, this match was at risk of postponement due to FIFA regulations, but according to journalist Esteban Edul, the world football governing body approved an exception so the match could still take place.

The reason stems from FIFA regulations, which state that a national team cannot play in two different continents during the same international match window. The Guatemala national team fell into this violation situation as they scheduled a match against Algeria on March 27 at the Luigi Ferraris stadium in Genoa, Italy.

Despite facing a tight travel schedule, with less than 4 days to fly from Europe to South America, the Guatemala national team is said to be determined to complete the trip to face the reigning world champions.

Although FIFA approved a special exception for Guatemala to play in two continents during the same match window, the Argentina national team is still awaiting similar permission for the remaining friendly match.

The issue arose because Honduras already had a scheduled match against Peru in Spain on March 31, so they needed special travel permission to fly from Buenos Aires to Madrid within just 4 days.

The cancellation of the 2026 Finalissima caused the Argentina national team to lose a major opportunity to test themselves against Spain, the world's number one ranked team and also a top contender for the 2026 World Cup championship.

Therefore, the Argentine Football Association urgently had to find replacement opponents at the last minute to ensure the national team still has matches during the March FIFA Days. However, since most strong teams had already finalized their schedules beforehand, La Albiceleste once again had to choose opponents considered weaker.

This continues to spark a wave of domestic criticism, with many opinions stating that the national team frequently faces mismatched opponents during important FIFA Days. This trend previously appeared in late 2025, when the Argentina national team successively faced Angola, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela, as well as earlier matches against El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Ecuador in early 2024.