Lionel Messi confirms Qatar 2022 will be his final FIFA World Cup
Argentina captain Lionel Messi stated Thursday that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will “certainly” be his final tournament.
“This will undoubtedly be my final World Cup.” I’m in terrific physical shape, and I was able to put in a strong pre-season this year, something I couldn’t do last year. It was critical to get to where I am now, with a positive attitude and a lot of optimism,” the 35-year-old told reporters.
Imagine if Lionel Messi goes out winning it 🥺 pic.twitter.com/pWYRDSZyft
— GOAL (@goal) October 6, 2022
Messi, who will compete in his fifth World Cup, made his international debut in 2005 and has since gained 164 caps for Argentina, becoming the country’s all-time leading goal scorer with 90 goals. Messi admits to being apprehensive about the upcoming tournament in Qatar during an interview in Paris, where he plays for Paris Saint-Germain.
“There’s a lot of nervousness surrounding the World Cup,” he said. “We can hardly wait for it to begin.”
Messi made his international debut as a substitute against Hungary in 2005, but he quickly established himself in the national team setup and headed to Germany for his first World Cup in 2006. He went on to compete in the 2010 edition in South Africa, the 2014 edition in Brazil (when Argentina reached the final), and the 2018 tournament in Russia.
Messi hasn’t quite lived up to the huge expectations set for him on the FIFA World Cup stage. The Argentine forward has six goals in 19 World Cup matches throughout four editions (2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018). Messi’s World Cup scoring rate is 0.32 goals per game, according to the statistics. Though an outstanding figure for many, it is far lower than the 0.53 goals per game he averages in Argentina.
Leo Messi wearing the new Argentina World Cup Jersey 💜😈🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/sk19kYoUgT
— Leo Messi 🔟 Fan Club (@WeAreMessi) August 29, 2022
The current team, led by Lionel Scaloni, has already gone 35 games without loss and is expected to be one of the pre-tournament favourites for the Qatar tournament.
“We’ve arrived at a good point, with a very well-equipped and powerful squad, but anything can happen,” Messi stated.
“All of the games are really challenging. The favourites are not usually the ones that win or follow the route that was predicted. Argentina is always a possibility due to its history and significance. But we are not the only favourites. There are teams ahead of us.”
Despite having a mediocre roster and little alternatives on the bench, Argentina outperformed many expectations in Brazil and Russia, and Messi came close to winning the 2014 World Cup before losing to Germany in the final. Argentina’s FIFA World Cup campaign will begin on November 22 against Saudi Arabia.
