But it appears Messi will stick to his word and go out on a high note. He previously said the 2022 World Cup would be his last, and he asserted Tuesday he has no plans to compete in the 2026 World Cup hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Lionel Messi rules out playing at 2026 World Cup. Argentina captain Lionel Messi announced Tuesday he has no plans to play in the 2026 World Cup. Messi, 35, led Argentina to glory last year in Qatar in what was his fifth World Cup appearance.
I'll see how things go, but as it is right now, no, I won't go to the next World Cup," Messi told Chinese television station Titan Sports. During the 2022 World Cup, Messi scored seven goals, one in each of Argentina's matches, en route to a thrilling win in the final match against France.
Lionel Messi Won't Play in 2026 World Cup After Agreeing to Inter Miami MLS Contract. Lionel Messi signaled he doesn't intend to represent Argentina when the team looks to defend its World Cup title in 2026. "I think not. [Qatar] was my last World Cup," he said to Chinese outlet Titan Sports (via ESPN's Adriana Garcia) ...
Cristiano Ronaldo refused to rule out another tilt for World Cup glory in 2026 during a recent Q&A session with young supporters in Singapore. On Saturday evening, Ronaldo concluded his two-day Singapore tour with a visit to the Victoria Junior College (VJC).
2026 World Cup qualification
It is widely expected that as host nations the USA, Canada and Mexico will all automatically qualify for the 2026 World Cup. But that has not been confirmed.
Who is better Messi Or Ronaldo? Ronaldo has scored a record number of international goals and appearances, but Messi has won more Ballon d'Or awards (7). Messi has spent most of his playing career in Spain and France, while Ronaldo has played in Portugal, England, Spain, and Italy.
Messi has his own gravitational pull, causing rational defenses to panic and individuals to stumble over themselves — a sensation Jérôme Boateng knows all too well — in an attempt to stifle him. As soon as they lunge, thinking the ball is within tackling distance, he taps it from left foot to right foot, and he's gone.
They are two of the most decorated footballers ever, having won a combined 76 major trophies (Messi 42, Ronaldo 34) during their senior careers thus far, and have regularly broken the 50-goal barrier in a single season. They are the only two players to score over 800 goals each in their careers for club and country.
Lionel Messi did not play in Barcelona's historic UEFA Champions League victory against Arsenal in 2006 because of a hamstring injury. Now, the 7-time Ballon d'Or winner has admitted that he 'deeply regrets' missing out on Barcelona's celebrations in 2006 after their Champions League triumph.
Morocco will join Spain and Portugal in a bid to host the 2030 World Cup. The announcement on Tuesday, which raises further doubts over Ukraine's participation in the bid, was made through a statement signed by King Mohammed VI and read at a meeting of the Confederation of African Football.
Captain Lionel Messi and other key players repeatedly said they wanted Scaloni to remain on the job for the 2026 World Cup. At the awards in Paris, Scaloni said, “The most beautiful thing is making your country happy, your people happy.”
Neymar has hinted he may yet play at the 2026 World Cup, revealing that the "very big dream" still burns to lift the trophy. The 31-year-old Brazilian said in the lead-up to last year's World Cup that it could be his last, while he was left devastated by his country's quarter-final elimination to Croatia.
Lionel Messi beats Kylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema to Best FIFA Men's Player award. Lionel Messi was named Best FIFA Men's Player at a ceremony in Paris on Monday, beating Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid's Karim Benzema.
But the Guinness Book of World Records recognizes Pele as the player with the most hat-tricks in the history of football with 92. He also holds the distinction of being the youngest player to score a hat-trick at a World Cup. Pele did it for Brazil in 1958 at the age of 17.
If you don't talk to him, he'll not talk back to you... The only defender that can stop messi is the lord God himself. The defendant of the universe.
Messi experiencing longest La Liga goal drought in six years | Goal.com UK.
Lionel Messi breaks Cristiano Ronaldo's record for most goals scored in Europe's top five leagues.
Lionel Messi is the holder of the title 'King of football.'
The Argentine has scored more World Cup goals - 13 - than his two rivals, though he's played more games. Pele hit 12 goals at the World Cup and Ronaldo has notched eight times. Pele's ratio, though, sees him come out on top again; 0.86 compared to Messi on 0.5 and Ronaldo on 0.36.
Ronaldo has played in 951 matches, so 88 more matches than Messi. and he's total to 701 goals. of those 701 goals, 220 of them were match winning goals. so Messi, in his career has 186 match winning goals.
On 5 October 2022, it was announced that Ukraine would join the co-host bid with Spain and Portugal. The bid was endorsed by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine. It was expected that if the bid was successful, Ukraine would host some of the group stage games.
Why is the 2026 World Cup between three countries? The soccer federations of the U.S., Canada and Mexico agreed to submit a joint bid to FIFA to host the competition. The bid won in 2018, with a majority of FIFA's congress voting to grant rights to the three nations.
The only previous time the United States hosted the World Cup, in 1994, the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., got the final. This time, SoFi Stadium is the Los Angeles-area site on the list of stadiums for 2026.