Fresh Controversy Hits FIFA World Cup! Messi & Argentina Stars Face Major Data Leak

Passport numbers belonging to Argentina players were reportedly not redacted before documents shared with media personnel and other recipients.

Argentina begins FIFA World Cup title defense on June 16 against Algeria.

Source : X, @Argentina

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Key points generated by AI, verified by newsroom

• Argentina players' passport details publicly exposed before Iceland match.
• Argentina won 3-0 against Iceland in friendly match.
• Messi returned, scored, becoming Argentina's oldest goalscorer at 38.

FIFA World Cup Data Leak Controversy: Argentina's FIFA World Cup 2026 preparations have been hit by an unexpected security lapse after sensitive personal information belonging to players, including captain Lionel Messi, was reportedly exposed ahead of a warm-up match. According to a Reuters report, passport details of every member of Argentina's squad for the friendly against Iceland were inadvertently made public due to an administrative oversight. The information appeared on the official team sheet distributed before the match and was allegedly released without the necessary redactions.

Passport Details Allegedly Released Without Redaction

The report stated that passport numbers belonging to Argentina players were visible on documents shared with media personnel and other recipients before the game.

Such information is typically concealed before public distribution, but that process reportedly did not take place in this instance.

Interestingly, the issue appeared to affect only one team. Iceland's players were reportedly not impacted because their submitted team documents did not contain passport numbers.

Also Check: FIFA World Cup 2026: Three Ways Messi And Ronaldo Could Face Each Other

Messi Marks Return In Argentina Victory

Besides the controversy, thousands of fans showed-up in Alabama to watch the final preparations of the defending champions before the FIFA World Cup gets underway.

Despite the off-field distraction, Argentina delivered an impressive performance on the pitch, defeating Iceland 3-0 in front of a crowd exceeding 88,000 spectators.

Lionel Messi, who had recently recovered from a hamstring problem, began the match on the bench before being introduced in the second half.  Within moments of entering the contest, Messi helped create a decisive attacking move. Lautaro Martinez latched onto a perfectly weighted pass before being brought down inside the penalty area.

Messi stepped up to take the resulting spot-kick and converted with ease, extending Argentina's advantage. The goal also saw him enter the record books as Argentina's oldest-ever goalscorer at 38 years and 11 months, surpassing a mark previously held by Angel Labruna since 1957.

Valentin Barco and Thiago Almada were the other scorers as Lionel Scaloni's side completed a comfortable victory.

Argentina will now turn their attention to the start of their FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign, with a Group J meeting against Algeria scheduled for June 16.