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.
Messi turns 36 on June 24. He would be age 38 when the next World Cup begins on June 11, 2026, and age 39 when it concludes on July 19, 2026.
The tournament will take place from a yet to be determined date in June to July 19, 2026, and will be jointly hosted by 16 cities in three North American countries: Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The tournament will be the first hosted by three nations. Argentina is the defending champion.
Messi and Inter Miami will likely play in Houston in a road date with the Dynamo at some point in the 2024 season, which spans from late February through October. There's also the chance Messi plays for Argentina in the 2024 Copa América tournament, which will be held in the United States.
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.
Lionel Messi has scored 57 hat-tricks in his career for Barcelona and Argentina.
"I think not. (Qatar) was my last World Cup. 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.
Lionel Messi has completed his transfer to Major League Soccer side Inter Miami. His contract is for two-and-a-half seasons, with an option to extend for a further year in the 2026 season.
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.
This all-new format was earlier the subject of controversy before getting finalized. Canada will be hosting the prestigious FIFA World Cup for the very first time in comparison to the United States and Mexico which will be hosting it for the second and third time respectively.
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.
Lionel Messi, who led Argentina to victory in the Qatar 2022 World Cup, has officially declared that he will not participate in the upcoming 2026 World Cup.
Lionel Messi has scored 13 goals in 26 matches at the FIFA World Cup, spanning five editions (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022). Messi is the highest goal-scorer for Argentina at the football World Cup. The stats put Leo Messi's scoring rate at football World Cups at 0.50 goals per game.
Lionel Messi will make a stunning move to Major League Soccer side Inter Miami CF after his departure from Paris Saint-Germain, the Argentine superstar announced Wednesday. Messi made the announcement about his next club in an interview with Spanish publications Mundo Deportivo and Sport.
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Messi has a multi-million-pound deal with Saudi — who want to host the 2030 World Cup — to promote tourism in the country but PSG have been left angered by the player prioritising that work over his commitments to them.
Jorge Mas, who is the co-owner of the MLS club, previously told Spanish Newspaper El Pais that Messi will earn between $50-$60 million per year, according to a source. Messi, who will occupy a Designated Player slot, is under contract with Inter Miami through the 2025 Major League Soccer season.
The footballing headlines in November 1946 belonged solely to one man as Liverpool inside forward Jack Balmer earned himself a place in the history books with a remarkable and unprecedented goalscoring achievement.
Ronaldo holds the record for the most hat-tricks in men's international football, netting 10 trebles over the course of his career for Portugal.
Cristiano Ronaldo has an incredible 62 hat-tricks in his illustrious career with his latest one coming in Saudi Arabia for Al Nassr. He scored all three of his team's goals in a 3-0 Saudi Pro League victory over Damac on February 25, 2023.