Football icon Lionel Messi has said he would love to represent Argentina at the 2026 World Cup in North America. His involvement at the tournament is unclear, but the 38-year-old is eager to help Los Albiceleste defend the title they won in Qatar. Messi “hopes” that he is able to play for Argentina at the 2026 World Cup.
The Inter Miami star recently told ESPN, “I hope I can be there. I've said before that I'd love to be there. At worst, I'll be there watching it live, but it will be special.” He also revealed he has spoken with Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni about playing at the tournament and explained that the coach said he would be welcome “in any role”.
Messi said, “The truth is, we've been talking about it. He (Scaloni) understands, and we've discussed it a lot. 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.”
Messi believes that Argentina has a “weight off our shoulders” after lifting the World Cup for a third time four years ago, but stressed how challenging it is to win the biggest prize in football. The former Barcelona star said, “Any national team can complicate things, you hit the post, and you're out, or you lose on penalties. Even though we won on penalties, we were superior in both the game against the Netherlands and the game against France, yet we still ended up going to penalties. We had the beast ‘Dibu’ (goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez), who helped us win, but you can also go to penalties and lose.”
“There are very good national teams, Spain, France again, England, Brazil, who haven't been champions for a while and want to win again, and also Germany.”
“It’s very difficult to win a World Cup. It’s something that is lived differently, as a spectator, as a player, and as a fan. Now that I see the group, I'm sure they will fight. Winning took a huge weight off our shoulders. Playing without that pressure is a relief, but at the same time, it doesn't guarantee anything, because everyone wants to beat the world champion.” Messi expects Argentina to face strong competition as they bid to maintain their title next summer.