Following a remarkable start to his Major League Soccer career, Lionel Messi, at the age of 36, is returning to international duty with Argentina as South America begins its lengthy journey to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, commencing on Thursday.
Just nine months ago, Messi achieved the pinnacle of his illustrious career by leading Argentina to a World Cup victory in Qatar, solidifying his status as the greatest player of his generation.
Since that magical night in Doha, the 36-year-old football icon has experienced a period of significant change. After a contentious departure from Paris Saint-Germain, Messi was pursued by Saudi Arabia before ultimately choosing to embark on a new chapter of his career with Inter Miami.
This decision has proven to be a wise one, as Messi and his family have smoothly adapted to life in Florida while enjoying success on the pitch. They have led Inter to their first championship and into the US Open Cup final.
Gerard “Tata” Martino, the former Argentina and Barcelona player who now coaches Inter, believes that Messi has found a sense of liberation after finally guiding Argentina to World Cup victory last year, following several heartbreaking near-misses in major championships.
As South America’s qualifying campaign begins this week, the lingering question is whether Messi will still be part of the Argentina squad when they seek to defend their title in the 2026 World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
However, in a subsequent interview in July, he acknowledged that he had no definite plans for when he intended to retire from international football.
“Even I don’t know when. It’ll happen when it happens,” Messi told Argentine media.
“After winning everything, I want to enjoy the moment and wait for time to tell me when it’s the moment.
“Logically, given my age, one would expect it to be soon, but I don’t know for sure.”
‘Door always open’
Argentina’s World Cup-winning manager, Lionel Scaloni, is certainly not in the mood to force the issue.
Scaloni is on record as saying that a place in the 2026 squad will be Messi’s for the asking if he chooses.
“I think Messi can get to the next World Cup,” Scaloni said in January.
“It will depend a lot on what he wants, on whether he feels good.
“The door will always be open. He is happy on the pitch and it would be very nice for us.”
While questions may continue to swirl around Messi’s future in the future, there is less uncertainty about Argentina’s prospects for qualification for the World Cup.
The expanded 48-team finals in 2026 mean that six of the 10 teams competing in South American qualifying, which will be completed in September 2025, will qualify automatically for the finals. The seventh-place team will advance to a play-off.
Given Argentina’s strength, it would take an upset of mammoth proportions for them to fail to qualify automatically for 2026.
Messi and Argentina’s qualifying journey gets underway with a home fixture against Ecuador at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires on Thursday, before the team faces Bolivia in La Paz next Tuesday.
Other games on Thursday see Paraguay take on Peru, while Colombia hosts Venezuela.
Friday sees two more fixtures, with Uruguay playing Chile in Montevideo while five-time World Cup winners Brazil make their entrance against Bolivia in Belem.
Brazil enter qualifying in a state of flux, with a new manager in Fernando Diniz, who took over from predecessor Tite in the wake of the Selecao’s World Cup quarterfinal exit to Croatia last year.
Whether Diniz will be in charge when Brazil arrive at the finals, though, is anyone’s guess, with the South Americans long believed to be targeting Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti to lead the team to the finals.
Brazil’s preparations for qualifying have also been disrupted by controversy around Manchester United winger Antony, who was dropped from the squad this week after revelations of assault made by an ex-girlfriend.
Antony, who denies the claims, has been replaced by Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus.