Lionel Messi said in an interview that he would love to go to the 2026 World Cup with Argentina. However, the 38-year-old Argentine star added a note of caution.
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Lionel Messi’s latest remarks about the 2026 World Cup have added a thoughtful dose of realism to a conversation that has been building since Argentina lifted the trophy in Qatar.
The Inter Miami forward, who turned 38 this year, continues to produce at an elite level. In Argentina’s most recent international window he delivered two assists against Puerto Rico and followed that with a brace against Venezuela, underlining that his end product remains decisive. Since the Club World Cup he has compiled 25 goals and 15 assists across 22 appearances for club and country, numbers that would flatter any forward in his prime. Even so, Messi is framing 2026 as an objective that depends on how his body and performance evolve over the next year.
In an interview with NBC Sports, Messi praised the unique aura of the World Cup and expressed a strong desire to be part of it again. He also stressed that participation cannot be taken for granted. He wants to arrive in a condition that allows him to contribute in a meaningful way, not simply occupy a place in the squad. For Messi, fitness is non negotiable. He intends to evaluate his readiness day by day once preseason with Inter Miami begins next year, using that period as a barometer for whether he can compete at one hundred percent intensity over the long haul.
That stance reflects the way Argentina’s staff have managed him since Qatar. Lionel Scaloni has built a structure that protects Messi’s workload while keeping him central to chance creation and set pieces. Ángel Di María’s international retirement has already changed Argentina’s attack. Julián Álvarez, Lautaro Martínez and others provide energy and pressing volume, while midfielders like Rodrigo De Paul and Enzo Fernández shoulder the heavy running. Within that collective, Messi is still the reference point in tight spaces and in moments that require vision. The recent international window showcased precisely that pattern. He did not have to sprint end to end. He dictated rhythm, selected passes, drifted between the lines, and accelerated only when the play called for it.
The club context matters. Major League Soccer’s calendar, travel demands and summer heat can be demanding, especially for a creative player who is often targeted physically. Inter Miami will look to balance league fixtures, domestic cup ties and continental commitments with careful minutes management. The preseason period he mentioned will be the first real checkpoint. How he handles consecutive training days, how quickly he recovers between friendlies, and whether he can string together ninety minute performances will tell him more than any single match.
There is also the reality of what the 2026 tournament represents. The World Cup will expand to 48 teams and be staged across the United States, Canada and Mexico. That format extends the number of potential matches for contenders, and the travel could be significant depending on group and knockout placements. For an Argentina team that expects to go deep, optimizing recovery windows will be critical. Messi’s message is clear. If he is in, it will be because he believes he can shoulder those demands while remaining a difference maker.
Form is not the issue. Messi’s numbers for Inter Miami confirm that his decision making speed and finishing precision remain elite. The question is durability across a season that ramps into a summer tournament. Argentina’s staff can mitigate that with rotation in certain qualifiers and friendlies, and by using him in targeted bursts when match state allows. The squad is deeper than it was four years ago. Álvarez and Lautaro can both start, Nicolás González and others can stretch the pitch, and the fullbacks can provide width to spare Messi from repeated high intensity sprints to the corners. When the match cries out for a final pass or a shot from the edge of the box, he still provides that moment.
Psychology also plays a part. Having won the last World Cup, Messi does not need to prove anything. What he wants is to compete with the national team at a level that honors that legacy. That is why he speaks about being truly fit and truly useful. It is a standard set by the player himself, not a public pressure point. The pride of defending a title remains a strong pull. So does the bond with the dressing room and with supporters who have followed every step since his early days in the Albiceleste shirt.
From Argentina’s perspective, a fully fit Messi instantly elevates their ceiling. He can unlock compact blocks that often appear in tournament football, and he changes the way opponents plan pressing traps and defensive lines. Even when he is not touching the ball, his gravity creates passing lanes for teammates. From set pieces he is still a weapon, and his chemistry with De Paul and the forwards has only grown.
There is a pragmatic path forward. If fitness and workload management progress as hoped, he enters 2026 as a focal playmaker who chooses his pressing moments and concentrates his sprints in the final third. If there are setbacks, Argentina can still keep him in the squad as a selectively used starter or a high impact option off the bench, maximizing quality minutes rather than total minutes. His leadership and calm in knockout situations have value on their own.
For now, the headline is simple. Messi wants to be at the World Cup. He is not stamping that in ink until his body confirms it through daily work in preseason and beyond. The national team will plan with flexibility, and Inter Miami will continue to balance his schedule with an eye on long term health. As long as the productivity remains high and recovery markers look good, expectation will naturally build. The player himself has set the right tone. Desire is strong, standards are higher still, and the final decision will follow performance and fitness, not sentiment.
Updated: 01:28, 28 Oct 2025
