Lionel Messi just stopped short of confirming that he will be playing in the FIFA World Cup for a sixth time by stating that he wants to be there for Argentina, who will be the defending champios in the 2026 tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Messi was pretty much the driving force as Argentina clinched the title in 2022 for the third time.
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“I hope I can be there. I’ve said before that I’d love to be there,” said Messi in an interview with ESPN. The 38-year-old had previously said that he will play if his body holds up. “At worst, I’ll be there watching it live, but it will be special,” he added.
Messi said that head coach Lionel Scaloni wants the Argentina legend to be around the team in some capacity or the other. “He always tells me that he would like me to be there in any role. We have a relationship of great trust and we can talk about everything,” he said.
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Regardless of whether he will be there or not, Messi feels that Argentina have the capacity to pose a serious challenge for the trophy once again. “The truth is we have extraordinary players, and it’s been shown for years — especially the desire and excitement since [Lionel] Scaloni took over,” said Messi.
“The mentality everyone has. It’s a squad full of winners, with strong mindsets, who want to win more, and that’s contagious. You see it in training, in matches. You see them train and they give everything. We’re an amazing group that gets along very well, but in training matches or certain drills, if they have to go hard, they go hard. Everyone gives their all, and that’s a huge strength of this group and this national team.”
Messi said that Argentina need to take advantage of the good phase that the country’s football is in at the moment. “New players keep appearing; aside from the ones already there, new faces keep coming in. When a group is like this, it’s easier for newcomers to fit in. Argentina needs to take advantage of this moment. Coming off winning the World Cup gives you confidence and relief to prepare competitions differently,” he said.
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