The friendlies leading up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup continue to be the talk of the town. In the case of the Argentina National Team, which faced Mauritania (2-1) and Zambia (5-0) and bid farewell to its fans before departing for the big tournament, one of the players saw his dream come true ahead of the matches.
Tomás Aranda, an 18-year-old player from Boca Juniors, trained at La Bombonera Stadium alongside Lionel Messi and the rest of the squad and couldn’t help but feel a mix of emotions.
Aranda recalls nerves after Argentina training session
The young player received a call-up to represent the Argentina U-20 national team and, in the lead-up to the senior team’s two friendlies, had the opportunity to share plays and moments with Lionel Scaloni’s squad, including Messi and Leandro Paredes, his teammate at Boca.
There, he also had the chance to exchange a few words and capture the moment with a photo alongside the 38-year-old Albiceleste captain.
“When I got to the locker room and saw the photo, I was shaking all over,” Aranda revealed to Boca’s Official Channel about his moment with Leo (via One Football).
“I couldn’t believe it. When I played with them, I’d imagine plays in my head. It’s crazy. I played with both of them. They’re my idols,” he said of Paredes and Messi. “He makes the difficult look easy. Later, I’d replay the plays in my head and say, ‘How does he do that?‘” he added about the #10.
Tomás had a dream week, as he was not only called up to the U-20 team and trained with Argentina, but also scored his first goal with the Xeneizes in the 2-0 victory over Instituto.
After training sessions, Scaloni himself described Aranda as a “very interesting” player, but he tempered expectations and reminded everyone that he is a very young player whose career is just taking off: “We have to give him time, but he has drive and confidence; he’s a talent who stands out in one-on-one situations,” the coach commented during his press conference.
Now, looking ahead to the upcoming tournament to be held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada from June 11 to July 19, Argentina will arrive as the defending champion and must defend its title. In Group J, they will face Algeria on Tuesday, June 16, at Kansas City Stadium. Then, at Dallas Stadium, they will play Austria on Monday, June 22, and Jordan on Saturday, June 27.
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