The legendary number 10 is in the final stages of his international career, but he is expected to be around until the 2026 World Cup.
Lionel Scaloni and Argentina now face a nearly impossible task faced by every World Cup winner before them: find a way to defend the title. It is a task that most of the World Cup winners before them have failed to do.
It’s a difficult balance for any coach to grasp because four years after the World Cup it’s about figuring out which new faces can come in and which old faces still have something left to hold on to.
Didier Deschamps and France came close, reaching their second final after winning the previous tournament, but that is the exception and not an exact science. Often, title defenses prove disastrous as coaches often struggle to know when to cut ties with a legendary generation.
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That task will be even more difficult for Scaloni’s team in Argentina, as everyone involved is thinking about the future of what may be the greatest team of all time.
On Friday (8/9) morning WIB, Argentina will begin qualifying for the 2026 edition of the tournament. However, it is still unclear whether Lionel Messi will be part of the tournament.
He is here for this camp, for the games against Ecuador and Bolivia, and it seems he is committed to playing for Argentina in the future. Either way, the Copa America is just around the corner, and Messi seems determined to defend that title.
Messi certainly has the ability and the motivation, but one day one of those two things will start to fade. And this brings us to the big question: how much longer can Argentina rely on their legendary star to continue being a legend?
2023-09-07 14:47:54
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