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World Cup stories: The Last Dance - Lionel Messi
This summer's World Cup will see some of the most revered players in the game head to North America, and with it being the biggest tournament of all time, there are superstar names at every turn.
Yet, 2026 will also see a changing of the guard, with several of football's most iconic faces competing on the global stage for one last time.
It's a last dance for icons such as Luka Modric, Cristiano Ronaldo, and arguably, the greatest of them all, Lionel Messi.
With 10 days left until the action kicks off in North America, we reflect on the legacy the Argentine has created on the game's biggest stage.
Looking back at Lionel Messi's World Cup exploits
How he carved out a legacy
Six since 2006
Lionel Messi will walk into North America this month to compete in his SIXTH World Cup for his country, a record he will now (of course) jointly hold with Cristiano Ronaldo.
It will be a final hurrah on the World Cup stage, four years on from finally cementing his place as a football icon in Qatar.
The 38-year-old's journey began two decades ago, when a teenage Messi made his World Cup debut in Germany, with expectations already high on the young star's shoulders. But expectation isn't something that has rarely bothered the forward, and he became the youngest player to represent and score for Argentina in the finals.
Four years on, Messi was very much already the talisman for the South Americans, but South Africa wasn't the time, and Argentina were dumped out by Germany in the quarter-finals with Messi failing to score.
Getty
Then, it looked as though 2014 could be his year. He led his side all the way to the final in Brazil, won the Golden Ball for the tournament's best player, but was foiled in the final by Germany's extra-time goal.
It was the first of three international finals Messi would lose in consecutive years and it led to him briefly retiring from the national team, only for the clamour to come back for World Cup 2018 proving too strong to ignore.
Once again, though, it didn't happen for Messi or his team. Argentina lost to eventual winners France in the knockouts and it looked like the country's captain and all-time leading goalscorer would never get his hands on that elusive trophy he craved more than most.
Then came Qatar.
The magical moment
When Saudi Arabia beat Argentina in the opening game of the 2022 finals, a collective deep breath was taken. Not just by everyone in Argentina, who feared the worst for both their team and skipper, but by football in general. Football wanted Messi to win the World Cup. And luckily, everyone got their wish.
After that shocking opening loss, Lionel Scaloni's men regrouped. Led by their number 10, they qualified from their group, beat Australia in the knockouts, bested the Netherlands on penalties, and then saw off Croatia to reach the final.
What followed was the best final of the modern era as France and Argentina traded blows, with Messi and Kylian Mbappe landing the knockout punches time and time again as they sought a Golden Boot and the ultimate prize.
In the end, it went to another dreaded shootout after a 3-3 draw in Lusail. Messi took the first spot kick and scored and two French misses later, he'd finally landed the big one.
With seven goals and another Golden Ball, it was Messi's moment, Messi's tournament and his time to even usurp the great Diego Maradona as the country's greatest ever.
He now had a World Cup win, inspired by his performances, to cement his status, and it would have been a fitting finale on the international stage for the icon.
But he's not done yet.
One more time? (C)Getty images
World Cup 2026 will almost be a bonus finals for the six-time Ballon d'Or winner.
He'll turn 39 during the tournament, and he's not expected to play as big a role in the team as he did four years ago, especially with more matches and more opportunities to rotate.
Yet, this isn't a Messi who's some shadow of a former self. He's still scored 56 goals in the last two years at Inter Miami, and his influence is as big as ever on the national team.
No nation has successfully defended a World Cup since 1962, so there's a new mission for the captain and you can bet it's one he'd love to add to football's biggest-ever CV.
(C)Getty Images
It may be more in bursts and cameos, but Messi is a moment's player now. Scaloni won't need him for every second of every match, but when it counts, who better to have than one of the best ever to do it?
That drop of a shoulder, those quick feet, the incredible intelligence to find the right pass, they haven't gone anywhere. Whilst the squad that won four years ago remains largely the same, only with more World Cup-winning experience and names such as Julian Alvarez, Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez coming into the summer in peak condition after stellar domestic campaigns.
Argentina aren't among the top favourites, but that won't bother Messi.
He'll believe there's one more era-defining moment in him on his last dance in the US, and with a supporting cast around him who will all play to his tune, another Argentina victory could well be on the cards.
Lionel Messi at the World Cup
- Tournaments: 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022
- Appearances: 26
- Goals: 13
- Golden Balls: 2
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