'He Will Decide And We Will Support': Lionel Scaloni Creates Suspense Around Leo Messi's Future As FIFA Announces 2026 World Cup Draws

Argentina are gearing up for the 2026 edition of the FIFA Cup and to defend their title of being the reigning world champions. Argentina are eyeing to script history and become only the third team after Italy (1934 and 1938) and Brazil (1958 and 1962) to defend the World Cup. As per the FIFA World Cup draw that was announced on December 5, 2025, the defending champions will take on Austria, Jordan, and Algeria in Group J.

After the draw was announced, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said that his team is in no mood to undermine any team in the upcoming World Cup. Scaloni also recalled the memories of the Argentina vs Saudi Arabia game from the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Scaloni also shed light on the possibilities of Lionel Messi playing the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

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Doubts Around Lionel Messi's World Cup Participation

Lionel Messi's participation in the 2026 FIFA World Cup remains unclear. Messi has been quite vocal about taking a final call on his international future during Inter Miami's pre-season. Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni was recently asked about Messi's participation in the upcoming 2026 edition of the World Cup, and he gave an honest insight about the legendary player.

"In principle, everything is going well, but six months is a long time. There is still time. We hope he's all well and that he makes the best decision for himself and for the national team. He will decide, and we will support whatever he decides," said Scaloni when asked about Lionel Messi's plans about the World Cup.

Scaloni also vented out his frustration about the date of the 2026 Finalissima in which Argentina and Spain go head-to-head with each other. Scaloni said that the match could've been played a bit earlier.

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Messi On The Cusp Of Scripting History

If Messi plans to play the 2026 edition of the FIFA World Cup, he and Cristiano Ronaldo will be the joint-first players to compete in their sixth World Cup tournament.