Messi on what must happen for him to play at World Cup 2026 | OneFootball

The 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico is approaching. Next June, the most important football tournament of all will once again captivate both locals and outsiders and paralyze the entire planet. In this context, the Argentine National Team will attempt to defend the title they won less than three years ago in Qatar.

With this in mind, the focus is on Lionel Messi. At the age of 38, La Pulga remains completely relevant, not only in the Albiceleste but also at Inter Miami. Therefore, almost no one doubts his presence in the World Cup that will be held in North America.

However, the native of Rosario, Santa Fe province, continues to choose not to confirm his presence in the next World Cup. On the contrary, the player who emerged from the youth divisions of Newell’s Old Boys in Rosario and also played for Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain remains cautious and shares some criteria to consider.

Recently, Messi gave statements to 'NBC News'. In them, the player considered by the majority as the best footballer of all time expressed his desire to be in what would be his sixth World Cup after participating in Germany 2006, South Africa 2010, Brazil 2014, Russia 2018, and Qatar 2022.

Nonetheless, at the same time, Messi pointed out that a series of conditions must be met for him to feel he can properly represent the Argentine National Team in that tournament. Essentially, the Rosario native wants to be in optimal condition to be useful to the team strategically led by Lionel Scaloni.

"Playing in the 2026 World Cup? I still don't know. I would like to be in the World Cup at a good level, be important, and help my team," Messi began to say. Ultimately, unlike what everyone thinks and suggests, the star prefers not to raise false hopes until he is completely sure he can be at his best.

"I will evaluate that day by day when I start the preseason with Inter Miami. There I will see if I can really be at 100% and if I am capable of being useful for the group, for the Argentine National Team. That's when I will make my decision," concluded the man who led the Albiceleste to their third World Cup victory in Asian territory.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.