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Argentina has bitter memories of 1994, the last time the United States hosted the World Cup.
After the second match of the group stage, national icon Diego Maradona was expelled from the tournament due to a positive doping test. Maradona would never play another World Cup match and Argentina were eliminated in the round of 16.
Thirty-two years later, the South American powerhouse is hoping for a happier ending for Maradona’s heir, Lionel Messi, who turns 39 this month and is expected to retire from international soccer after the curtain falls on the 2026 World Cup, which the United States is co-hosting with Mexico and Canada.
If he and Argentina can retain the World Cup trophy they won four years ago in Qatar, they will become the first team to win back-to-back titles since Brazil in 1962. It would also bolster the claims of those who already call Messi the greatest player of all time.
“I love playing football and I’m going to do it until I can’t do it anymore,” Messi told Argentine journalist Joaquín “Pollo” Alvarez in a YouTube interview. “I’m competitive, I like to win at everything, sometimes I don’t even let my kids win at video games. It’s just my nature and what led me to achieve everything I have.”
(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
After more than 20 years playing for Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami, Messi’s body is showing signs of wear and tear. A week before what will be his record sixth World Cup, he is recovering from a hamstring problem that led to his substitution in Inter Miami’s final match before the tournament on May 24.
The Argentina captain trained alone at the team’s base camp in Kansas City this week.
“We would all have liked Messi to arrive without problems, but that is not the case. Not only him, but most of the players are not yet fully recovered,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni told DSports, a Latin American television channel.
Fitness issues
Goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, hero of two penalties in 2022, including the final against France, fractured the ring finger of his right hand during the Europa League final while playing for Aston Villa.
Defender Cristian “Cuti” Romero is recovering from a knee injury he suffered in mid-April while playing for Tottenham. Right-backs Nahuel Molina and Gonzalo Montiel are suffering from muscle injuries, as is midfielder Leandro Paredes.
Argentina, also champions in 1978 and 1986, will play their first group stage match on June 16 against Algeria in Kansas City. The next Group J matches are Austria on June 22 and Jordan on June 27 in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas.
Scaloni relies on 17 of the 26 players who won the World Cup in 2022, although several are not in peak physical condition.
“Why change them if they don’t deserve it? We have always been honest with them. The players who are here today have shown us that they want to be here. And secondly, their level has not dropped,” Scaloni said.
Argentina won the Copa América in 2024 and finished first in the South American World Cup qualifying group.
Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez is the key to Scaloni’s attack, with Barcelona, Arsenal and PSG reportedly vying for his signature for next season. The coach also brought in three newcomers: midfielder Valentin Barco, recently signed from Chelsea, as well as forwards Nicolas Paz, a key player for Como in Italy, and Juan Manuel López, top scorer for Brazilian club Palmeiras.
A notable absence from four years ago is Angel Di Maria, who retired from the national team in 2024. Besides Messi, he was instrumental in Argentina’s success in Qatar.
“It is impossible to replace Di María. He and Messi are irreplaceable,” Scaloni said.
A future without Messi is difficult to imagine
Ever gentle, Messi tried to dampen expectations of another World Cup title.
“We have to be excited, as the Argentines always do, but we also have to know that there are other favorites ahead of us who are in better shape,” he said.
Messi already holds the record for most World Cup appearances (26) and needs four more goals to surpass German Miroslav Klose’s record of 16 World Cup goals.
Although he did not explicitly say he would step away from the national team after the World Cup, he hinted last September that he was calling the team’s qualifier against Venezuela in Buenos Aires his final competitive home game for Argentina.
“It was very emotional to know that it was my last competitive match here,” he said after the match at the Monumental Stadium. “I’ve experienced a lot in this stadium – some great moments and some difficult ones – but it’s always special to play in front of our fans.”
Scaloni, like most Argentines, also gets emotional when he thinks of a national team without Messi.
“I like to think that he will continue to play because otherwise you become sad, like what happened with Diego (Maradona),” Scaloni said in an interview published on the website of the South American soccer confederation CONMEBOL. “These are players who have left their mark on the history of football and thinking that they will no longer play doesn’t leave you alone. I prefer to think about the present.”
Associated Press reporting.
