Lionel Messi was back in action on Sunday, and scored a brace in Inter Miami’s 3-1 win vs Philadelphia Union. Before this match, the attacker was on the sidelines, having sustained an ankle injury during Argentina’s win against Colombia in the Copa America final, on July 14.

With Argentina set to defend their FIFA World Cup title in 2026, many fans have been left wondering about the former Barcelona’s star’s availability, as he is already 37-years-old. Messi’s former teammate and Argentina legend Juan Roman Riquelme feels that the Inter Miami star will feature in the tournament in 2026.

Speaking on AZZ channel, he said, “Messi is reinventing himself. You never know what he can do. And I have no doubt that he will play in the next World Cup, he has to play. We will all be rooting for him to play. I don’t tease him too much, but we talk a lot. That’s why I think he’s going to play. He’s very good, it’s something that’s not normal. And to that, he adds that he really likes to compete. He’s won a lot and he still wants to keep winning.”

On Sunday, Philadelphia opened the scoring in the second minute via Mikael Uhre. Messi led his side’s comeback with a brace. In the 26th-minute, Messi received a pass from Luis Suarez, went past a defender and then drove it inside the left post to make it 1-1.

Then four minutes later, Messi received a cross and scored past the goalkeeper with a shot from 15 yards, to make it 2-1. In stoppage time of the second half, Messi found Suare, who made it 3-1.

Speaking ahead of the match, Messi said, “A little bit tired because of the heat and humidity of Miami but I wanted to return so much after such a long time away.”

“I started training with the group and began to feel better.”