A sad message for football .. Messi announces his last World Cup appearance
The football world received a sad message, with the announcement
of Lionel Messi, the captain of the Argentine national team and one
of the most prominent legends of the game, the date of his last appearance
in the World Cup tournaments.
Lionel Messi gave an interview to the Argentine “Star Plus” network,
in which he confirmed that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will witness
his last appearance in the World Cup competitions.
Messi said about his last appearance in the World Cup: “The 2022 tournament
will be my last participation in the World Cup tournaments, the decision has already been taken.”
last chance
Lionel Messi tried to embrace the greatest glory in football by winning
the World Cup, but all his attempts failed, and the closest was in 2014
to reach the final, but the German machines spoiled the last tango and
snatched the cup.
“The Flea” will have to fight the last war in the World Cup in Qatar in order
to repeat the achievement of Diego Armando Maradona, who always compare
by the Argentine public to him, given the success of the late star in helping his
country achieve the World Cup title in 1986 in Mexico.
The Argentine captain celebrated his 35th birthday cake last June, and he will
compete in the 2022 World Cup on his way to completing his 36th year, which
means that the 2026 World Cup will come when Messi is in his 40th year.
Messi participated with his country in the World Cup tournaments from 2006
until the next tournament in Qatar, a number not achieved by a contemporary
player except for Cristiano Ronaldo, who completed his 37th year last February.
Lionel enjoys the top scorer in the Argentine national team throughout its history,
having scored 90 goals so far, which has strengthened his status as a legend in his country.
Argentina will compete with Group C teams in the upcoming World Cup,
which includes Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Poland, in the last appearance of
the same competition in the current form, before the number of teams is increased
to 48 instead of 32 in the 2026 edition.
Lionel believes that his chance of participating in the 2026 tournament
is difficult due to his advanced age and inability to appear in his usual fitness,
so he preferred that the 2022 tournament be his last show in the World Cup
competitions, in preparation for his retirement in the next few years.
Lionel warning
Speaking with “Star Plus”, Lionel Messi sent a warning to his country in
the next World Cup, refusing to consider the task easy in the group stage.
The Paris Saint-Germain star added: “We must win the first match.
In the previous World Cup, we believed that things would be easy and that
the lead in the group was guaranteed, but this did not happen.”
Argentina narrowly ranked second in its group in the World Cup Russia 2018,
and won only 4 points in the group that included Croatia, Nigeria and Iceland.
Messi continued: “There is definitely anxiety before the World Cup, because it is
the last for me, I can’t wait, we have a strong and great team, but everything can
happen in football, I don’t know if we are among the best candidates, but Argentina
is always a candidate to win the title because of Its great history.
Messi concluded: “We deserved to win the 2014 World Cup, we had an amazing group
of players, nothing stopped us until the final, and in 2018 we had difficulty qualifying
from the qualifiers, then there was chaos and a lot of changes to the coaches and players,
and we ended the tournament badly, if we had won the match. The first thing was going
to be different, so it’s important that we win the first match in Qatar.”
Argentina will play Saudi Arabia in its opening match of the World Cup on
November 22 in the third group competition in the competition.
Messi announces his last World Cup appearance
