Lionel Messi scored moments after coming off the bench on Tuesday to dispel any injury doubts and help Argentina win their final warm-up game for a World Cup overshadowed by off-field distractions, as the Somali referee refused entry to the United States said his dream was over. The 38-year-old Messi had not featured for Argentina in the build-up to their title defence after injuring a hamstring playing for Inter Miami in late May. He came on as a substitute with 20 minutes left to huge acclaim from a capacity 88,000 crowd against Iceland in Auburn, Alabama, and his clever through ball played in Lautaro Martinez, who was fouled in the box.
Messi, who drove Argentina to their third World Cup crown in Qatar four years ago, lashed in the penalty as the reigning champions eased to a 3-0 win. The World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico starts on Thursday and Argentina’s first match is on June 16, against Algeria in Kansas City.
Dream ripped away: The biggest-ever World Cup, with a bumper 48 teams, has been dogged in the lead-up by controversies including fans and officials being barred entry, steep ticket prices and a U-turn after FIFA initially banned fans from bringing refillable water bottles into stadiums.
Somali referee Omar Artan said the “biggest dream of my life” had been ripped away after he was turned back at the US border. “I am very, very disappointed,” Artan told The New York Times from Istanbul, where he returned after being refused entry in Miami. “I’m just simply a referee who’s trying to live his dream, the biggest dream of my life, to come to the World Cup.” Artan said he was subjected to an 11-hour interview with border officials at Miami International Airport and then taken to a holding cell where he was detained for several further hours before being put on a flight back to Turkey.
“I had the right papers and everything. I had the right visa,” he added — an assertion confirmed to AFP by a Somali government advisor. A US State Department official alleged to AFP that the referee was “associated with suspected members of terrorist organizations,” therefore “making the traveler ineligible for admission to the United States.” Artan, who in 2025 was named men’s referee of the year by the Confederation of African Football, would have been the first Somali to referee at a World Cup.
Mexico City protests: Concerns were rising that the opening match in Mexico City on Thursday could be disrupted by social unrest.
On Tuesday a protest blocked an avenue leading to the Estadio Azteca, where Mexico will face South Africa in the curtain-raiser. As international fans flooded into the three tournament co-host countries, Mexico is grappling with chaotic teacher protests in its capital. Thousands took part in Tuesday’s demonstration following a week of action that President Claudia Sheinbaum has called a “provocation.”
“As if to say, ‘Look at how bad the situation is in Mexico,'” she told a press conference. A police blockade prevented the demonstrators from reaching the stadium.
Sheinbaum has said that the opening match was “guaranteed,” though the left-leaning leader again ruled out using police to repress the demonstrations.