Lionel Messi’s new big carrot for national team

Lionel Messi He seems to be the owner of every brand and record in football. It feels like there is no impossible challenge for the captain of the Argentina national team.

The million dollar question these weeks and before the new playoffs begins is If La Pulga can participate in the sixth World Cup in 2026 in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

In the Argentina national team, the captain has participated in no less than 175 official games,

This number puts it at an all-time high, higher than two forts such as Javier Mascherano (147) and Javier Zanetti (142).

For the remaining routes, the question arises: Will Messi play 200 games in light blue and white? The challenge, the carrot, seems far away, but yet it is so close.

With 25 games left to reach that magic number, it’s worth doing the math: There are 18 games in the complete qualifiers. If Messi can participate in all, Considering he is 36 years old and the work he has done at this stage of his career, this fact cannot be confirmed.

In the middle is the America’s Cup in the United States. From this point of view, Messi will be the great man to defend his country’s title at Maracanã in 2021.

In this sense, it may also increase the presence of competitors from the African continent. Even accumulating friendly matches during the World Cup cycle, beyond the distant 2026 World Cup. There are still many games to go before reaching 200, but nothing seems impossible for Messi.