Article by Romeo Ene – Published on Wednesday, 10 June 2026, 20:58 / Updated on Wednesday, 10 June 2026 21:04
Argentina beat Icelandscore 3-0, in a friendly match played in the United States, but the game was overshadowed by a serious security incident. Before the start of the game, confidential data of the players of the South American national team was made public by mistake.
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Argentina – Algeria is played on Wednesday, June 17, from 04:00. Group J also includes Austria and Jordan.
Lionel Messi and his teammates have been the victims of an information leak after the passport numbers of the Argentine footballers appeared in a document distributed to media representatives.
Huge mistake before the Argentina game
According to local media, the incident was caused by an error by the Road to '26 company, sponsor of the event and partner of Turkish Airlines, responsible for organizing the match played at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama.
When handing over the official match sheets to journalists, the organizers did not remove the passport numbers of the Argentina players. The information was contained in the original document handed over to party officials and thus came into the possession of the press.
Instead, the representative of Iceland did not include this data in the distributed documentation, avoiding any such problem.
How the leak happened
According to Argentinian publications, it is common practice for federations to submit player lists to organizers along with passport numbers, which are required for administrative and identification procedures.
This information is normally removed before the game sheets are made public. This time, the procedure was not followed and the personal data of Messi and his teammates became accessible to media representatives.
The incident sparked reactions in the Argentine press, which criticized the way the world champion's confidential information was handled.
I had been looking forward to playing for a while as I ended up with some discomfort. I am happy, excited and enjoying every moment. I feel great.
I was eager to get in and get rid of the fears you have when you feel this discomfort. We have a week to prepare for the opening match.
– Lionel Messiafter Argentina – Iceland 3-0
