Lionel Messi and Argentina Players' Passport Leaked in Bizarre Security Breach ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026

As the FIFA World Cup 2026 starts in a day, a major security issue has become the new nuisance for defending champions Argentina.

Los Albicelestes, who start their campaign in order to defend their title from Qatar 2022, see their passport being leaked ahead of the competition.

Passport numbers belonging to Lionel Messi and the entire Argentina national team were accidentally exposed in an embarrassing security breach just days before the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off.

The sensitive details appeared on the official team sheet issued by Argentina for their pre-tournament friendly against Iceland on Tuesday at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama. Team sheets, which are submitted to match officials roughly an hour before kick-off, sometimes contain passport information for verification - but these numbers are normally redacted before being shared with the media.

In this case, the passport numbers were left visible and were subsequently published by several Argentine media organisations.

The leak affected the full squad, including captain Lionel Messi, Lisandro Martínez, Enzo Fernández and all other players. Iceland did not submit passport numbers on their team sheet, avoiding the same privacy violation.

The friendly was organised by Road to '26, a company sponsored by Turkish Airlines that has arranged several warm-up matches ahead of the tournament, which officially begins on Thursday.

Despite the off-field controversy, Argentina delivered a commanding performance on the pitch, defeating Iceland 3-0 in front of a sell-out crowd of 88,000 fans.

Messi, who had been recovering from a hamstring injury picked up while playing for Inter Miami just over two weeks earlier, came off the bench in the 70th minute. The 38-year-old immediately made his mark by winning and converting a penalty. He later played a key role in the third goal, delivering a precise pass to Rodrigo de Paul, who assisted Thiago Almada. Valentín Barco scored the opening goal.

The Argentine captain looked sharp and in good physical condition during his substitute appearance, boosting confidence as the defending champions prepare to defend their 2022 title.

The incident has raised serious concerns about data protection and operational security in the lead-up to the World Cup. Neither FIFA nor the Argentine Football Association (AFA) have issued official statements on the breach so far.