Lionel Messi is widely expected to be playing in his final FIFA World Cup, with the 38-year-old unlikely to feature when the tournament returns in 2030. The Argentine captain cemented his place among football’s all-time greats by leading his country to World Cup glory in Qatar in 2022, a campaign in which he also won the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player. Messi has remained the driving force behind Argentina‘s recent success, helping them win two Copa America titles as well as the 2022 World Cup. His achievements have further strengthened his standing in the long-running debate over football’s greatest player. Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni has repeatedly praised Messi’s influence, often highlighting the veteran’s role in shaping one of the most successful periods in the nation’s football history.
Reflecting on Messi’s enduring popularity ahead of another World Cup campaign, Scaloni said the Argentine captain remains a figure admired not just in Argentina but throughout the footballing world.
“Not only the Argentinian population but everybody, the whole planet, wants to see him play,” Scaloni explained. “Everybody wants to see him on the pitch, because he has an effect not only on Argentina fans but supporters all over the world.”
Messi arrived at the World Cup after managing a minor hamstring concern, but there have been encouraging signs regarding his fitness. In the limited training sessions open to the media, the Argentina captain has moved freely and shown no obvious discomfort. He also came through the team’s final warm-up match against Iceland without any issues. Introduced after the break at Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium, Messi made an immediate impact by converting a penalty and completed around 20 minutes on the pitch, offering further reassurance that he is ready for the challenges ahead. Several reports already suggest that he will in the starting line-up for Algeria clash on Wednesday morning.
“There’s nothing negative to say,” Scaloni said. “He’s always been there, and he’s essential for us. He’s going to remain that way.”
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“He’s also a competitive animal”: Otamendi on Messi
Looking back at Argentina’s memorable World Cup triumph in Qatar, veteran defender Nicolás Otamendi said the experience continues to motivate the squad. He admitted that the celebrations and unity across the country remain fresh in their minds, but insisted that the team cannot rely on past success and must maintain the same hunger and humility to compete at the highest level again.
“What happened back in Qatar was just amazing. The whole country united,” recalled Messi’s longtime national teammate, Nicolas Otamendi. “We have that engraved in our minds, and it’s just injected us with the strength to keep trying. There’s no relaxing. We need to keep working with that level of humility that is required in these types of competitions.”
There are few more humble superstars than Messi, whom Otamendi described as “simple man that just focuses on training.”
“He’s also a competitive animal,” Otamendi said. “You want to be there with him, supporting him, serving him, and laughing our hearts out all the time. As I’ve said, when the ball is rolling, that’s when you need to press, unite and come together as a family on the pitch,” he added.
