Lionel Messi airs 2026 World Cup ‘hope’ with Argentina but rules out meeting with Spain & Barcelona wonderkid Lamine Yamal in Finalissima

Messi inspired his country to World Cup glory at Qatar 2022, allowing his historic medal collection to be completed. The all-time great is now 38 years of age and plying his club trade in the United States with MLS Cup finalists Inter Miami.

He has conceded that a winter break may leave him short on sharpness for FIFA’s flagship event next summer, with MLS action resuming in the spring, but has stopped short of telling national team boss Lionel Scaloni that he will not be available.

Quizzed again on whether he intends to grace another World Cup, Messi told ESPN: “I hope I can be there. I've said before that I'd love to be there. At worst, I'll be there watching it live, but it will be special. The World Cup is special for everyone, for any country - especially for us, because we live it in a completely different way.”

He went on to say of piecing together plans for another shot at football’s ultimate prize: “The truth is we've been talking about it. He [Scaloni] understands, and we've discussed it a lot. He always tells me that he would like me to be there in any role. We have a relationship of great trust and we can talk about everything.”

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While Messi is expected to form part of Argentina’s World Cup squad, he is likely to miss a showdown with Spain - who have 18-year-old sensation Yamal at their disposal - which has been pencilled in for late March 2026.

Asked if he will play in Finalissima, Messi - who captured that trophy back in 2021 when beating Italy at Wembley - said: “No, to be honest, no. It's not even confirmed if it will be played. They don't even know if it will happen. But being honest, having a pre-season in the middle changes everything for me.

“It's like starting a new season from scratch, and having a pre-season in the middle will help me a lot because European players arrive to finals with a ton of matches in their legs, like always. Except for Qatar, which was midseason, and many felt better because they had less load. I think the same will happen to me.”

Whether Messi figures or not, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner concedes that Argentina will find it difficult to go back-to-back in the World Cup-winning stakes. He said of that challenge: “I think we have a great group and we're going to try again. After that, small details can leave you out.

“Any national team can complicate things, you hit the post and you're out, or you lose on penalties. Even though we won on penalties, we were superior in the game against the Netherlands and against France, and still ended up going to penalties. We had the beast, [goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez] 'Dibu', who helped us win, but you can also go to penalties and lose.

“It's very difficult to win a World Cup. It's something that is lived differently: as a spectator, as a player, and as a fan. Now, seeing the group, I'm sure they will fight. Winning took a huge weight off our shoulders. Playing without that pressure is a relief, but at the same time it doesn't guarantee anything, because everyone wants to beat the world champion. There are very good national teams -- Spain, France again, England, Brazil, who haven't been champions for a while and want to win again, and also Germany.”

Argentina will discover their 2026 World Cup group stage opponents when that draw takes place on Friday. Messi will be an interested observer there, as he readies himself for an MLS Cup final showdown with Vancouver on Saturday.