TThe Argentina national team aims to defend its title in the next FIFA World Cup in 2026 in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Captain Lionel Messi is yet to confirm his participation in the tournament, but he has already revealed his favorites to win the trophy, but one key detail has been left out.
Inter Miami erupts in jubilation as Messi and team celebrate MLS title
Messi picks favorites and excludes great rivals
After the World Cup groupings were finalized and the 48 participating nations learned who they would be playing against, all eyes were on which teams would play and who would emerge victorious.
Like all football fans, the Inter Miami star has favorite players outside of his home country and says he will “fight” to win another trophy in Qatar in 2022. In a recent interview with ESPN, Leo confessed:
“There are some very good teams…Spain, France, England and Brazil also haven’t been champions for a long time, but they want to be champions,” the No. 10 began. “Germany always wanted to beat Argentina, but even more so after the last World Cup. It will be very difficult, but I have no doubt that they will fight for the championship,” Messi said.
However, it was unclear whether Messi’s response was planned or simply an oversight or assumption, causing controversy, but Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal representative was not included.
The truth is that if Leo confirms his presence and decides to participate in the tournament, he and CR7 will go down in history as the only two players in the history of football to have played in six World Cups. Furthermore, there is a possibility that they will face each other in the quarterfinals as well.
Argentina will be in Group J with Austria, Jordan and Algeria, while Portugal will be in Group K with the winners of Uzbekistan, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Jamaica and New Caledonia. If Leo and his teammates finish as group leaders like they did in Portugal, winning their respective round of 16 and quarterfinal matches, the long-awaited clash between the two legends could take place on July 11 in Kansas City.
It is possible that the two sides will face off in the semi-finals or finals, but that seems highly unlikely.
Meanwhile, the 2026 World Cup will be held from June 11 to July 19 and is already promising to be a historic tournament.
