Although he Inter Miami will compete for the first time in its history in the semifinals of the MLS next November 22 (5:00 pm), the idol Lionel Messi He did not hesitate to take advantage of the FIFA date and join the Argentine team for a friendly match in Africa, eight days before.
The world champion will face Angola, in Luanda, this Friday, November 14, in their last match of the year.
A few weeks ago, Messi said that his “great dream is to play the World Cup 2026” and crossed three continents – the albiceleste squad trained in Alicante, Spain, for the commitment in Angola – as one more step towards that goal.
In an extensive interview published by Barcelona’s Diario Sport on November 11, Messi revealed: “I don’t want to be a burden (for Argentina in the World Cup), I want to feel good physically, be sure that I can help and contribute things to the group, to the team.”
A special World Cup
On June 24, Messi will turn 39 years old and could become one of the oldest footballers to play in the World Cup.
The 23rd edition of the maximum event of the ball will be held from June 11 to July 19 in Canada, the United States and Mexico with the participation of 48 countries.
Last September, Argentina qualified for the World Cup as the absolute leader in the South American qualifiers.
Weeks ago, in an exclusive interview with NBC News, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner said that “playing in the 2026 World Cup and trying to help Argentina retain its World Cup crown would be extraordinary.”
Messi announced that next January he will begin the preseason with his club, Inter Miami, and that if he feels 100 percent he will play in the World Cup.
Messi’s disciplined life, his professionalism and the care he receives are factors that allow him to get closer to the oldest footballers in history.
The oldest
Cameroonian forward Roger Millá, at 42 years and 39 days old, not only had the luxury of playing in the 1994 World Cup in the United States, but also scored against Russia. He became the oldest field footballer to play in the World Cup and also to score a goal.
He is followed by Canadian midfielder Atiba Hutchinson, who at the age of 39 years and 288 days played in Qatar 2022; the Argentine striker Ángel Labruna, aged 39 years and 242 days in Sweden 1958; and the legendary English attacker Stanley Matthews at 39 years and 137 days in Switzerland 1954.
If on this FIFA date, Portugal qualifies for the Cup and Cristiano Ronaldo reaches said tournament, he would turn 41 years and 120 days as the second oldest outfield player to play in the World Cup. And Messi would occupy sixth place.
The oldest man to have played in the World Cup is the Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El Hadary, who at 45 years and 161 days old made a save in Russia 2018.
Messi has played with the albiceleste since 2005 and since then he has made 195 appearances and scored 114 goals with his national team.
The Rosario star has just extended his contract with Inter Miami until the end of the 2028 season, which means that the player’s motivation remains intact and long-term projects and commitments are outlined.
The way Messi dedicates himself to football and with the advances in science, it would not be unreasonable to think that he could even reach the 2030 World Cup, which will be played in six countries and one of them is Argentina. Then he would be 43 years old, just one older than Millá from Cameroon when he set his records.
It must be remembered that Millá entered the second half of the games and thus compensated a little for the age difference with his rivals. Perhaps some of this will be done with Messi, of whom Argentina’s coach, Lionel Scaloni, assured, a year ago in Miami, that the “crack will be in any case in the 2026 World Cup with Argentina, in any capacity.”
Messi, along with the Brazilian Cafú, are in second place among the players with the most victories in the World Cup (16), behind the German leader Miroslav Klose, with 17.
If the star is crowned with the albiceleste in 2026, he will be the second oldest champion at 39 years and 25 days behind the Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff, victorious in Spain 1982 at 40 years and 133 days, but Messi will be the oldest field player to achieve the feat.
