The Argentine national team will seek to defend its title in the United States, Mexico, and Canada at the next FIFA World Cup in 2026.
Although Lionel Messi, its captain, has not yet confirmed his participation in the tournament, he has already revealed his favorites to win the trophy, but omitted one important detail.
Messi chooses his favorites and leaves out his great rival
After the World Cup group draw and knowing who the 48 participating countries will play against, attention turned to which teams will face each other and which of them will be the winner.
Like all soccer fans, the Inter Miami star also has his favorites, beyond his own country, which he said will “put up a fight” to win the trophy again in Qatar in 2022. In an interview with ESPN that recently went viral, Leo confessed:
“There are some very good teams… Spain, France again, England, Brazil, who also haven’t been champions for a long time and want to be champions,” the number 10 began, adding: “Germany, who always wanted to beat Argentina, now even more so after the last World Cup. It’s very difficult, but I have no doubt that they will fight for it,” said Messi.
However, Messi’s response sparked controversy as it was unclear whether it was premeditated or simply an oversight or assumption, but he did not include Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal.
The truth is that if Leo confirms his presence and decides to participate in the tournament, he and CR7 would go down in history as the only two players in soccer history to have played in six World Cups. In addition, they could face each other in a quarterfinal match.
Argentina is in Group J, alongside Austria, Jordan, and Algeria, while Portugal is in Group K with Uzbekistan, Colombia, and the winner between the Democratic Republic of Congo, Jamaica, and New Caledonia. If Leo and his teammates finish as group leaders, as does Portugal, and then both overcome their respective round of 16 and quarterfinal matches, the long-awaited clash between the two legends could take place on July 11 in Kansas City.
It could also happen that the two face each other in the semifinals or directly in the final, but that seems much less likely.
Meanwhile, the 2026 World Cup will be held from June 11 to July 19 and already promises to be historic.
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