Will Lionel Messi play in the 2026 World Cup? This says Lionel Scaloni

“Surely this will be my last World Cup”, Lionel Messi anticipated in Qatar 2022 without knowing that he would be crowned with Argentina in the final of the century against France (3-3 in regulation time, 4-2 on penalties). “There are many years for the next (tournament) and I don’t think it will give me. Finishing this way is the best”, he clarified after the semifinal that the Albiceleste beat Croatia 3-0.

But Jorge Valdano revealed that Messi confided this to him: “If I’m a world champion, I’ll keep my shirt on until the next World Cup,” after an interview with the former attacker who, as Diego Maradona’s squire, established himself in Mexico in 1986.

Euphoric, Lionel Scaloni, the world champion coach after the wild final against France, also spoke on December 18 of the possible presence of the star from Argentina in the United States-Mexico-Canada World Cup.

“Messi would have to save a place for the next World Cup. If there are 26 players, what does he care? You have to keep the (number) 10 shirt for him. I think he earned the right to decide what he wants to do with his career and with the Argentine team. What he transmits to his teammates is incredible. I have never seen such an influential person,” said the coach.

This Tuesday Scaloni gave an interview to Radio Calvia, from Spain in which he spoke of the future of Messi in the national team. The trainer hopes to lead him in the 2026 World Cup.

The statements were reproduced by the newspaper ACE, from Madrid. According to the 44-year-old strategist, there is an option as such for Messi to play his sixth World Cup in 2026. “I think so, but it will depend a lot on what he wants. This depends on what is happening over time, on whether he feels good. The doors will always be open, he is happy on the pitch and he would be good for us, ”he commented.

Scaloni praised the Paris Saint-Germain star and assured that he did not need to win the World Cup in Qatar to be among the greatest footballers of all time.

“In particular, I think that Messi did not need to win a World Cup to be one of the greats or the greatest. It happens that he is always asked for more. Now that he’s won the World Cup, I don’t know what else they’re going to ask of him. We are very happy for him and above all for the country, ”he reflected.

The coach said that with the passage of time they are becoming aware of what it means to have won the World Cup and what this victory has meant for the Argentine people: “Obviously it is recent, but little by little you are realizing what you’ve got. We are left with the way in which we achieved it, the euphoria of the people. The final result was that we united a country and that was fundamental, ”he declared in the interview.

the rotary ACE He says that the victory in Qatar has also had consequences on a day-to-day basis for Scaloni in Calvià, the Mallorcan town where the former soccer player who played eight seasons in Spain for Deportivo La Coruña (1998 to 2005) and two for Mallorca ( 2008 and 2009).

“Now not only Argentines stop me on the street. Many people from Spain or Italy stop me and are happy for what Argentina has achieved,” Scaloni said. (D)