Argentina star Lionel Messi has opened the door to his participation in the 2026 World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in America, Canada and Mexico.
With Messi reaching the age of 37, meaning that when the next World Cup is held he will be 39 years old, doubts are scattered that he will continue until then, and he may retire internationally or football in general before then.
Messi hints at his participation in the 2026 World Cup
When Messi was asked after the match about his participation in the 2026 World Cup, he replied, “I have not set a date or anything related to my future in football, I just want to enjoy everything I am in now.”
He also added, “I am more motivated than ever to be in Argentina and feel the love of the people here because I know that I am now playing my last matches.”
“Despite my age, I am here, I feel like a child, I live in a wonderful state of harmony with the team, I am really happy.”
He concluded in this regard, “As long as I feel good and have the ability to perform the way I want, I will continue to enjoy football and will not stop.”
Will Messi participate in the 2026 World Cup?
Given Messi’s recent statements, it is most likely that he will participate in the 2026 World Cup.
The only case that could cause the opposite is if he suffers a severe and sudden injury that would end his career as a whole.
Physically, Messi is not expected to be affected much by age, given that the American League is not as stressful as European or even Arab football.
Messi achieves a historic achievement and equals Cristiano Ronaldo
Messi had scored 3 goals and made 2 during Argentina’s 6-0 victory over Bolivia, thus writing a new history for him with the “Land of Silver”.
Messi raised his tally of international goals to 110 goals, surpassing Iranian football legend Ali Daei, and becoming the second highest scorer in the history of national teams behind Cristiano Ronaldo (133 goals).
In the same context, Messi equaled Ronaldo’s historical record, after reaching hat-trick number 10 with Argentina, thus becoming, like the Portuguese star, the most hat-trick scorer with national teams in history.
