Copa America 2024 brings Lionel Messi to NJ. Will he be back in 2026?

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Soccer fans around the world are rejoicing with the world's best on display in two separate tournaments across the globe − the UEFA European Championship taking place in Germany, and the Copa America across 14 different cities in the United States through July 14.

One of the players competing in Copa America is none other than Argentina's Lionel Messi − who set a record by playing in his 35th Copa America match − played a factor in setting up the opening goal and had an assist on the second goal in their 2-0 win over Canada on Thursday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Messi and his fellow countrymen continue their play in New Jersey on Tuesday as Argentina takes on Chile at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford (9 p.m. start).

While Messi, who turns 37 on Monday, will be in the Meadowlands for Argentina's next game, there's already some doubt he'll suit up for his country two years from now when the 2026 World Cup will be back in the Garden State, including the World Cup Final taking center stage at MetLife.

Here's what we know about Messi's current status to suit up for the 2026 World Cup:

'I don't know how I'm going to be at that moment' Despite saying the 2022 World Cup − where Argentina defeated Kylian Mbappe and France, 4-2, on penalties − would be his final one, Messi didn't rule out the possibility earlier this month in an interview via Infobae.co about being part of helping his country defend the title in North America in 2026.

"It depends on how I feel, how I am physically and being realistic with myself. And to know if I am up to the task of being able to compete and help the colleagues next to me," Messi said on June 7.

"There's a while left and I don't know how I'm going to be at that moment."

Will Lionel Messi play in 2024 Olympics? The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner has ruled out representing Argentina for the 2024 Olympics in Paris later this summer due to playing in Copa America and the Leagues Cup tournament coming up for his MLS squad Inter Miami.

A reason why Messi would choose the MLS over the Olympics is that the Leagues Cup is sponsored by Apple, his media partner who played a pivotal role in getting him to come to the United States and play for Inter Miami.

It's clear that Messi had to choose one or the other here, with the Leagues Cup taking place July 26-Aug. 25 and the Olympics starting July 24 and going through Aug. 10.

Will he or won't he: Messi playing in World Cup 2026 As of now, this truly feels like a toss up.

With the World Cup victory in 2022, Messi has accomplished just about everything you can in his 20-plus years at the professional level.

The only individual and team awards absent from his trophy case are the Coupe de France and the FIFA Puskas Award, which recognizes the best goal of the year despite having been nominated multiple times.

There's a good chance Messi will want to close the World Cup chapter on top, going out victorious in the most watched World Cup Final in history.

My true gut feeling tells me that despite him saying no more in the past and if he avoids a major injury over the next two years, Messi goes for one more run at the highest level, this time aiming to be a back-to-back, two-time World Cup winner for Argentina, who currently has the fourth-shortest odds at 10/1 (tied with Germany and Spain) on DraftKings Sportsbook in New Jersey.

If Messi does indeed participate and leads Argentina to another World Cup victory, it would be the first time since Brazil (1958, 1962) and just the third time in history a nation would win consecutive World Cups.

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Source link : https://www.northjersey.com/story/sports/soccer/2024/06/24/lionel-messi-nj-soccer-copa-america-2024-argentina-metlife-stadium-world-cup-2026/74155111007/ Author : Publish date : 2024-06-24 04:21:05 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source .