World Cup 2026 once again proves that no one should rush to set limits for Lionel Messi. Therefore, although very fragile, the final at East Rutherford (New Jersey) may still be the last time the 39-year-old striker wears the Argentine national team jersey in the international arena. Ironically, his opponent is Spain - the team that once had the opportunity to take Messi's career in a completely different direction.
Those who watched the 2005 South American U20 Championship in Colombia must still remember the first time they witnessed Messi. At that time, the 17-year-old boy with frizzy hair, small figure and appearance unlike a professional player surprised everyone as soon as the ball rolled.
Messi not only impresses with super dribbling techniques or accelerations. What makes him different is his ability to feel space, read the game and appear at the right time. Right from that moment, many people believed that they were witnessing a special talent.
However, in 2005, Messi was still almost an unknown name. After leaving Rosario for Barcelona at the age of 13, he only made a few appearances for the first team. Meanwhile, the Spanish Football Federation actively persuaded Messi to wear the Spanish national team jersey. That forced Argentina to act.
On August 17, 2005, Messi made his debut for the Argentine national team in the match against Hungary. Ironically, he was sent off after less than a minute on the field.
In the years that followed, El Pulga was ridiculed many times for his decision to stick with Argentina. Spain consecutively won EURO 2008, World Cup 2010 and EURO 2012, while Albiceleste continuously failed in major tournaments.
The climax was after the defeat to Chile at Copa America 2016, right at the stadium where this year's World Cup final will take place, Messi announced his retirement from the national team.
However, he quickly changed his decision. That choice opened a glorious period in the modern history of Argentine football with two consecutive Copa America championships and the 2022 World Cup crown. Now, Messi is facing the opportunity to help Albiceleste successfully defend the championship when facing Spain.
The 2026 World Cup final is also an interesting reunion between two coaches Lionel Scaloni and Luis de la Fuente. Nearly a decade ago, Scaloni took a coaching training course in Spain, where De la Fuente was one of his mentors.
The connection between the two teams is also shown in other details. Before the tournament, when asked which foreign player he wanted most in the Spanish squad, De la Fuente did not hesitate to call out Julian Alvarez. But now, his task is to find a way to neutralize this striker and Messi in the decisive match.
Unlike the way England chose to retreat deep to defend against Argentina in the semi-finals, Spain is likely still loyal to the philosophy of controlling the ball. The challenge for De la Fuente is to limit the influence of Messi and Alvarez, just like the way La Roja once blocked Kylian Mbappe and the French team's attack.
Notably, Argentina and Spain already planned to meet in the Finalissima match between the European and South American champions. Argentina wanted to organize the match from last year, but the dense schedule made the plan impossible to implement.
Another option considered is to organize in Doha in March this year, but the political situation in the Middle East caused the match to be cancelled. Spain proposed some locations in Europe, and Argentina wanted to bring the match to Buenos Aires, but the two sides could not find common ground.
Finally, the highly anticipated match will still take place. However, instead of Finalissima, Argentina and Spain will face off on the biggest stage of world football.
