BUENOS AIRES, May 30 (AP) – For Argentina, the last time the United States welcomed the world’s biggest soccer tournament carried a bitter legacy that still resonates three decades later. In 1994, the country’s beloved icon Diego Maradona was sent home mid-tournament after testing positive for banned substances, never to step onto a World Cup pitch again. Argentina bowed out in the round of 16, closing a chapter the South American soccer powerhouse has never forgotten. Thirty-two years on, the 2026 World Cup – co-hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada – brings a new, redemptive chapter, centered on Lionel Messi, Maradona’s widely recognized heir, who is widely expected to wrap up his legendary international career when the final whistle blows on this tournament.
Turning 39 this month, Messi is set to make his record sixth appearance at the World Cup, leading the defending champions in their quest for something no men’s national team has achieved in more than six decades: back-to-back World Cup titles. Only Brazil, which lifted the trophy in 1958 and 1962, has held the honor. If Argentina can retain the crown they won in Qatar 2022, the achievement would cement the widespread claim that Messi is the greatest men’s soccer player to ever step onto the pitch.
Messi, who has spent more than 20 years playing at the top club level for Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and most recently Inter Miami, acknowledges his competitive fire has not faded, even as his career enters its final stretch. “I love playing football and I’m going to do it until I can’t anymore,” Messi said in a YouTube interview with Argentine broadcast journalist Joaquín “Pollo” Álvarez. “I’m competitive, I like to win at everything, I don’t even let my kids win at video games sometimes. It’s just my nature and what led me to achieve everything I have.”
Yet age and a grueling career have left their mark, and fitness concerns have hung over the Argentine camp ahead of their opening group stage match. Just a week before the tournament kicks off, Messi is still recovering from a hamstring injury that forced him to be substituted early in Inter Miami’s final pre-tournament fixture on May 24. This week, the Argentina captain completed separate individual training sessions at the team’s Kansas City base camp, where the side has set up their pre-tournament camp.
Messi is far from the only player dealing with fitness setbacks. “We all would have liked Messi to arrive without any problems, but that’s not the case. Not only him, most of the players aren’t fully recovered yet,” Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni told DSports, a Latin American sports television network.
Goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, whose penalty-saving heroics carried Argentina to victory in two knockout shootouts in Qatar 2022 including the dramatic final against France, suffered a fractured ring finger on his right hand during this year’s Europa League final while playing for Premier League side Aston Villa. Star defender Cristian “Cuti” Romero of Tottenham Hotspur has been recovering from a knee injury picked up in mid-April, while right backs Nahuel Molina and Gonzalo Montiel, plus midfielder Leandro Paredes, are all managing ongoing muscle injuries.
Despite the widespread fitness concerns, Scaloni has retained 17 of the 26 players who lifted the World Cup trophy in Qatar, betting on their proven championship chemistry over replacing underdone stars with fit newcomers. “Why change them if they don’t deserve that? We’ve always been honest with them. The players who are here today have shown us they want to be here. And secondly, their level hasn’t dropped,” Scaloni explained.
Argentina, three-time World Cup champions with prior titles in 1978 and 1986, enter the 2026 tournament on a strong recent run: they claimed the Copa América title in 2024 and finished atop the South American CONMEBOL qualifying table. Atletico Madrid forward Julián Álvarez has emerged as a critical offensive weapon for Scaloni, with top European clubs including Barcelona, Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain all reportedly pursuing his signature for the upcoming club season. Scaloni has also added three first-time World Cup debutants to the squad: midfielder Valentín Barco, who recently signed with Chelsea, young forward Nicolás Paz, a standout with Italy’s Como, and Juan Manuel López, the current top scorer for Brazilian Serie A side Palmeiras.
The most notable absence from the 2022 championship squad is Ángel Di María, who retired from international soccer in 2024 after being instrumental to Argentina’s Qatar run alongside Messi. “It’s impossible to fill Di María’s shoes. He and Messi are irreplaceable,” Scaloni said.
For his part, Messi has sought to temper expectations of a fairytale final triumph, acknowledging that other top contenders are in stronger form heading into the group stage. “We have to get excited, like Argentines always do, but we also have to know that there are other favorites ahead of us who are in better form,” he said.
Already the record holder for most World Cup matches played with 26 appearances, Messi needs just four more goals to overtake Germany legend Miroslav Klose’s all-time record of 16 World Cup goals. While he has not formally announced his international retirement following the tournament, he dropped a clear hint last September, when he described a home qualifying match against Venezuela as his last competitive home fixture for Argentina.
“It was very emotional, knowing this was my last competitive match here,” he said after playing at Buenos Aires’ Monumental Stadium. “I’ve been through a lot in this stadium — some great moments and some difficult ones — but it’s always special to play in front of our fans.”
For Scaloni, the prospect of an Argentina side without Messi is a difficult one to process, echoing the sense of loss that followed Maradona’s exit from the global stage. “I like to think he’s going to keep playing because otherwise you get sad, like what happened with Diego (Maradona),” Scaloni told CONMEBOL’s official website. “They are players who have made history in football and thinking that they won’t play anymore doesn’t leave you at peace. I prefer to think about the present.”
Argentina will kick off their Group J campaign against Algeria on June 16 in Kansas City, before facing Austria on June 22 and closing out group play against Jordan on June 27 in Arlington, Texas, just outside Dallas.