Lionel Scaloni didn't know where to look to hide his emotion. In the technical area at Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City), the Argentine national team coach was completely drawn into his emotions when the substitution table was raised. Lionel Messi slowly walked towards him to leave the field. That moment recalled the World Cup in Qatar 4 years ago, when assistant Pablo Aimar hugged his head and sobbed after Messi's goal against Mexico, relieving the terrible pressure for 46 million Tango people. Now in the US, Scaloni tries to hold back his tears, pulls Messi closer and says thank you.
We have always been amazed by him," Scaloni shared, "Messi has been the best for the past 20 years, still shining in every match, and you don't need to be an Argentina fan to admire what he has done at the age of 39".
On the commentary cabin, Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero performed admiration gestures. Messi performed "new magic" in his 200th match for the National Team. He began his journey to defend the championship with a hat-trick, equaling Miroslav Klose's record to become the highest scorer of all time at World Cups. The surprise spread throughout the football world. Kylian Mbappe or Erling Haaland, despite continuously scoring for their national team, were also amazed. Haaland even posted a selfie on Instagram with a short status line: "Messi is indeed a madman.
Overcoming doubt
Messi's participation in his 6th World Cup in his career - a record he shared with Cristiano Ronaldo - was once predicted and doubted. He has never publicly committed and always made the public speculate. When the Emir of Qatar put a bisht shirt on Messi's shoulder at Lusail in 2022, many people thought that chapter of his career had ended.
It sounds strange for the greatest player of all time, but as the summer of 2026 approaches, Messi feels he needs to prove to himself that he can still make a difference. The important thing for Messi is that his call-up must be based on actual form, not reputation, based on current prospects, not past glory.
When Messi moved to Inter Miami in July 2023, many people worried that the MLS environment would erode his fitness, accelerating his retirement process, but as Xavi commented: "He is extremely competitive".
Overcoming doubts, Messi signed a new 3-year contract with Inter Miami. He continuously raised the MLS Cup championship, won the Best Player of the Tournament title and the Golden Boot. In the World Cup qualifiers, he scored the most goals in South America (8 goals). Deep down, Messi found the answer. He is still capable of playing football at the top.
Optimize physical condition
Behind Messi's performance is a strict scientific process and silent discipline. Compared to Cristiano Ronaldo - who is a media icon for a healthy lifestyle - people know less about Messi's living habits. In fact, Messi has completely changed his diet from a decade ago to end nausea right on the field. Under the advice of nutrition experts, he cut off chocolate, carbonated drinks and switched to eating fish, meat, and salad in an organized way.
In Miami, everything is raised to a new level. Argentina national team physical therapist, Walter Insaurralde, works directly with Messi to supervise resistance, acceleration and strength training exercises. Rodrigo De Paul - so close that he is called Messi's "bodyguard" - revealed that both have implemented a separate training regimen of 2 sessions a day with a personal fitness coach outside of training hours at the club.
At Inter Miami, new coach Guillermo Hoyos introduced an internal tournament called "Super Liga" full of tension. The result made everyone gape: Messi scored more than 80 goals, no one else exceeded 30. Messi brought that form to Miami's official matches and now the World Cup - 5 goals after 2 matches, breaking Miroslav Klose's record of 16 goals at World Cups and almost certainly, 18 is not the number he puts a dot behind.
2030, why not?
Messi has not shown himself to be a burden to the National Team. Since Scaloni took over, Messi has found absolute harmony. The Albiceleste collective is like a family, where players fight for each other and for him.
Argentina's preparation for this tournament does not stop at BBQ parties or traditional mate tea weeks. Leandro Petersen - Commercial Director of the Argentine Football Federation affirmed that AI technology plays an important role in protecting and maximizing Messi's ability. In-depth sports science helps solve Messi's injury problem right before the tournament.
In 2018, after France eliminated Argentina in Russia, international commentators once affirmed: "This is definitely Lionel Messi's last World Cup match". Yet now, at the age of 39, he is still standing there, proud and excellent as ever. With this inexhaustible physique and inspiration, when Argentina co-organizes a match to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the World Cup in 2030 at Monumental (Spain), no one dares to assert that Messi will not appear.
