Argentina confirmed their qualification through to the 2026 World Cup, becoming the first South American team to do so. The defending champions have dominated in CONMEBOL qualifying for the tournament set to be held across Canada, Mexico, and the USA. They put the cherry on top of their celebrations for making it to the tournament with a 4-1 thrashing of arch-rivals Brazil in Buenos Aires.
Argentina looked in dominant touch throughout the match, a step above a team which is usually considered the dominant force in South American football. Despite star man Lionel Messi not playing, the attack clicked into gear ferociously. Julian Alvarez, Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister, and Giuliano Simeone all got on the scoresheet.
In the wake of this match and the World Cup qualification, Argentinian coach Lionel Scaloni was asked if Messi would be available for the tournament, having missed out on the most recent international break for the Albiceleste due to a knock. However, Scaloni kept his cards close to his chest.
“We will see what happens, there’s plenty of time,” said Scaloni on the matter in a press conference. “We must go one game a time otherwise [we] will be speaking about the same thing the rest of the year.”
‘Let’s not drive him crazy…’
Argentina’s win in Qatar in 2022 was seen as a fairytale win for Messi, with this potentially being his last World Cup, at the age of 35 when the tournament took place. However, Messi has still looked more than capable of competing at the highest stage.
Now playing professionally for Inter Miami in the MLS, it will also serve as an opportunity for him to represent Argentina in the country he currently calls home.
Nevertheless, Scaloni was not interested in discussing Messi’s potential participation in 2026, and demanded that the question stop coming up. “We need to leave him alone, we will see,” he said. “He will decide it whenever he wants, let’s not drive him crazy with this.”
If Messi does play in the 2026 World Cup, he would become the first footballer to appear in six different World Cup tournaments, with his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo also in line to receive that honour.
While the respect and admiration for Messi remains high, even as he approaches his 38th birthday, Argentina have shown they have more than enough quality to thrive even without him.
