On December 18, 2022, Lionel Messi’s Argentine national team became world champions in Qatar after a nail-biting penalty shootout.
Now, ahead of next year’s tournament in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, the 38-year-old captain has issued a strong warning to his rivals, as they dream of winning the Cup again and defending their title.
Leo puts pressure on his future opponents
In 2022, Argentina did not get off to the best start: they lost to Saudi Arabia (1-2) and lost their 36-game winning streak without defeat. This heavy blow only strengthened Lionel Scaloni’s team, as they beat Mexico 2-0 in a match that, if they lost again, would have eliminated them from the tournament.
Argentina then faced Robert Lewandowski’s Poland, where Alexis Mac Allister and Julián Álvarez were the executioners of their rivals, leaving the match 2-0.
Australia fell to Leo Messi and company 2-1, and in a heated match, the Netherlands and Argentina ended up in a penalty shootout (3-4) after tying 2-2. After beating Croatia 3-0, they faced Kylian Mbappé’s France in the agonizing final, where Emiliano Martínez once again shone in goal during the penalty shootout. Argentina prevailed from the 11-meter mark and took the title in Qatar (4-2).
Looking ahead to a new competition, Messi spoke with ESPN’s Pablo González and made it clear that his team will not settle for this title: “This group is going to try again, they are going to give it their all and they are going to fight,” said the number 10.
Knowing that competitions at this level are not easy and that the slightest mistake can send them home, the Inter Miami star pointed out: “Any team can make it difficult for you and you’re out, you hit the post and you’re gone, you can lose on penalties.”
Referring to the penalty shootouts against the Netherlands and France, Leo praised Argentina’s goalkeeper and revealed: “In the last one, we were lucky that, although we were superior in the game against both the Netherlands and France, we had to go to penalties and there we had the beast ‘Dibu’ [Martínez] who made us win, but you can get to penalties and not win. The World Cup is very difficult.”
Despite his statements, Lionel did not confirm his presence at the tournament: “I hope I can be there. I already said that I would love to be there,” he said, adding, “At the very least, I’ll be there watching it live, but it’s going to be special, especially for us who experience it differently than anyone else.”
Meanwhile, on December 5, the draw for the 2026 World Cup will be held to determine the competition groups for the 48 teams. The tournament will be held from June 11 to July 19.
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