In 2022, Lionel Messi might have concluded his World Cup career on a high note, but he has returned and is set to become the first player to participate in six tournaments.
Four years ago, the seasoned Argentine forward, who is about to earn his 200th cap, had declared that the Qatar World Cup would be the final event in his illustrious career. With seven goals, including two in a thrilling final versus France, he performed his own magic in the Gulf state, leading his team to victory.
“Obviously, I wanted to finish my career with this. I can’t ask for any more,” Messi had said after that triumph, which appeared to be his crowning achievement.
The forward, who turns 39 later this month, said that he would like to continue playing as a world champion for a little while longer. He ultimately persevered, unable to resist the allure of the grandest platform in football, and last month he was included in Lionel Scaloni’s 26-man squad.
As the three-time winners look to become the first country to win the World Cup again since Brazil in 1962, Messi continues to be Argentina’s talisman.
“I’ve been enjoying it from the beginning. I’m happy, enjoying every moment and excited as always,” he said after last week’s 3-0 friendly win against Iceland in Alabama.
Regarding his participation in the 2026 competition in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, the former Barcelona player had been evasive.
“There were doubts because of what I said at the previous World Cup, that I thought it would be difficult for me to play it again because of the number of years that had to pass,” he said.
“But I started feeling good and I was taking things day by day, just like I’d been saying. I had the chance to play, to find my rhythm, to get minutes, to keep feeling good, and it all happened naturally.”
Messi, who left Europe for the United States in 2023 after a lackluster two seasons with Paris Saint-Germain, is obviously not the player he once was. He is no longer performing at the best level every week because he plays for Inter Miami in Major League Soccer.
However, since helping his side win the MLS Cup the previous year, he has been in excellent form, scoring 13 goals in 16 games in 2026.
The Argentinian was replaced in Miami’s 6-4 victory over Philadelphia last month due to a hamstring injury, raising questions about his fitness. But in a 20-minute cameo for Argentina against Iceland, he allayed such worries by scoring from the penalty spot not long after entering the game.
Since the last World Cup, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner has already won more trophies with Argentina, leading the side to victory in the 2024 Copa America in the United States. In South American World Cup qualifying, he was also the top scorer. “I love playing football, and I’m going to do it until I can’t anymore,” he recently declared.
As a teenager, Messi participated in his first World Cup match in Germany in 2006. Later, in 2014, he led Argentina to the final in Brazil, where they were defeated by the Germans in extra time. If, as anticipated, he plays against Algeria in Kansas City on Tuesday, Argentina’s all-time best scorer will become just the third player to reach 200 caps, behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Bader Al-Mutawa of Kuwait.
Messi’s biggest personal adversary throughout his career, Ronaldo, will also play in his sixth World Cup.
“We’re all fully aware that this could well be Leo’s last World Cup, given his age, but it’s his decision at the end of the day,” teammate Julian Alvarez told FIFA.com.
“It’ll certainly make for a special World Cup and I don’t just mean for us, his team-mates and the Argentine people, but for everyone who watches and follows him, given that he’s the best player of all time. He’s made a colossal impact the world over.”
