Four years later: Can Lionel Messi lead Argentina to another World Cup gold?
In the hours after Argentina beat France in the most insane World Cup final ever played, wearing a black Qatari robe over his blue and white jersey, Lionel Messi kissed the trophy, strolled over to his teammates and lifted it to the sky.
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Most people thought that was the end. The greatest player ever, who completed the only story left to tell. But they were wrong.
A year and a half later, Messi extended his contract with Inter Miami until 2028. He scored 29 goals and had 20 assists in a single MLS season – enough to win the MVP award and carry his club to its first-ever title.
In Argentina’s 2026 World Cup qualifiers, he was the tournament’s top scorer with eight goals, and he played in 12 of the 18 qualifiers.
The magician, who turns 39 during the championship itself, plays on – and aims to repeat the feat in North America. This will really be his last World Cup. But can he do it again? – We will get the first answer on June 17 (the same day as Norway plays Iraq) when Argentina meets Algeria. – You can follow the matches on our Live service.
Messi magic in Qatar
In Qatar, Messi became the only player to score in the group stage, the last eight, the quarter-finals, the semi-finals and the final in a single edition of the Men’s World Cup.
His total World Cup assist total, 13 goals and 8 assists, is the highest of any male player in the tournament since 1966.
He became the first player to win five Player of the Match awards in a single men’s World Cup.
Only two players in history have scored five or more goals and created 20 or more chances in a single World Cup. One was Messi in 2022. The other was Maradona in 1986.
Injury worries in the Argentina camp
Messi grabbed the back of his thigh, asked to be substituted and walked straight down into the players’ tunnel in Inter Miami’s last game before the World Cup.
Argentina’s World Cup squad was soon to be announced, and Messi had already admitted earlier this year that he was not sure if he would be fit for the tournament.
Interim coach Guillermo Hoyos in Miami described the problem as fatigue, while Rodrigo De Paul revealed that he and Messi have been training twice a day to prepare for the World Cup.
But Argentina and Messi have been here before. That Messi misses time for Argentina is nothing new. He has been spared by Scaloni on several occasions, and he walked out of the 2024 Copa America final injured.
Argentina still won 1-0 over Colombia after a goal by Lautaro Martinez in extra time. When Messi leaves, this squad knows how to hold the line.
He is expected to be ready for Argentina’s opening match. And judging by the pre-tournament warm-up games, including a penalty goal in the 3-0 win over Iceland, the signs are encouraging.
Argentina’s other stars
The genius of Scaloni’s Argentina is that they don’t need Messi to be Messi from 2022 every single night. They have the squad to carry him when they need to – and that’s exactly what makes them so dangerous.
Scaloni has chosen a squad that balances about two-thirds of the proven winners from Qatar with a handful of dynamic new faces.
Emiliano Martinez in goal. Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martinez in the back row. Rodrigo De Paul, Alexis Mac Allister and Enzo Fernandez in midfield. Lautaro Martinez at the top, with Julian Alvarez as the unstoppable supporter.
If anything, the team is wider than in 2022. Right now, they are the most complete national team on the planet.
Ranked number three in the world. Reigning champions. Copa America winners. The only team in the modern era to have beaten Brazil both home and away in the same South American qualifying campaign.
History is against Messi
No nation has won two straight World Cups since Brazil in 1958 and 1962. Sixty-four years without a repeating champion. Italy tried in 1938 and succeeded, then nothing. France in 2022 reached the final, but lost. Germany in 2014, Brazil in 2006, Italy in 2010 – all reigning champions, and all were knocked out before the semi-finals.
And then there is the question of age. Messi turns 39 on June 24 – between the group stage and the playoffs. No player this old has ever won a World Cup outright, much less dragged his team to the trophy on his own performances.
Another moment of Messi magic?
We know that this will be Messi’s last World Cup. But we also know that this Argentina squad is deeper, more balanced and more solid than almost everyone else in this championship.
He is three goals short of equalling the all-time World Cup scoring record. The fairy tale is very much alive.
Two straight world titles for the first time since 1962. An eight-time Ballon d’Or winner who lifts the trophy at the age of 39. The greatest player ever, who goes out on his own terms, on the biggest stage in the sport. What a script, that.
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