The 2026 World Cup is coming. Will Lionel Messi be there?
It is entirely appropriate, a little poetic even, that Lionel Messi is at the front of center of things as soccer's latest men's World Cup kicks off, just like he was when the last one ended.
Wait, there's another World Cup already?
Yep. Soccer truly never sleeps, which is why, less than nine months after lifting the trophy for Argentina in Qatar's Lusail Stadium, Messi and his colleagues begin the process of qualifying for the 2026 tournament, which will be staged in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
[For USMNT, the 2026 World Cup cycle starts now]
Soccer's various regions of the world conduct their whittling down process on differing scheduling and formulaic structures. The CONMEBOL confederation, made up of 10 South American teams, is an exhausting slog of 18 matches, from which at least six teams will make the 48-strong World Cup field in three years' time.
Messi will be present when Argentina hosts Ecuador in Buenos Aires, a crucial competitive game that will nevertheless have a lingering celebratory element to it. Argentina started partying in late December, when Messi scored twice in an epic final against France, struck another in the penalty shootout, and ticked the last remaining "to-do" from his litany of glittering career achievements that have arguably established him as the all-time greatest.
Lionel Messi: Every touch in Argentina's 2022 FIFA World Cup Final victory over France
The question now is whether Messi will still be around in 2026. At 36, he looks as spritely as ever, as displayed in his scintillating start to life with Inter Miami in Major League Soccer. Eleven games, 11 goals, thank you very much.
But three years is a long time, and if we're taking about dramatic ways to sign off a World Cup career, nothing could ever top what he did in Qatar.
"I don't think he will play the World Cup," Messi's friend and former Argentina teammate Carlos Tevez told Mundo Deportivo. "With his age, as the World Cup arrives he will realize he is not the same.
"When you don't have anything more to achieve, it is difficult to keep playing. But now Leo continues to do it at a very high level, scoring goals and giving assists. What can I say about him? He plays a totally different type of football."
There are a number of things we don't know about how Messi views the end of his career, and what he wants from it, yet it seems like a natural connection that if things continues to go well in Miami and he feels comfortable in the USA, that it may play a part in his thinking.
[Lionel Messi and Aitana Bonmati lead Ballon d'Or shortlist, Cristiano Ronaldo left off]
Either way, this is a special time for soccer. It is easy to make a case for the World Cup being the greatest competition in sports, and the qualifiers have a lot to do with that. FIFA has more members than the United Nations, and each of those countries gets a shot at becoming world champion, however unlikely an outcome that may be.
The qualifiers are a long and deliberately drawn-out battle, not designed to reward those who can shine for a fleeting moment, but teams that can sustain excellence over a long period and still find an extra gear when it matters the most.
There are mismatches at times, but fewer than in the past. And, sometimes, wild upsets.
The USA doesn't need to take part in qualification this time as a co-host, so will fill the intervening time with friendly games, as head coach Gregg Berhalter seeks to get his team tournament ready and to decipher which members of his available pool of players can have a big impact.
European squads from the UEFA confederation have qualification for next year's European Championship to worry about before their own World Cup program begins.
In total, 208 teams will take part, the most international of all games showing its global nature to full effect.
With a reach that big and that broad, how could any player be bigger than the game? Messi isn't, but he's the closest thing to it.
Even now, it's safe to say, the next World Cup wouldn't be the same without him.
But knowing what we know about him, his love for competition and drive for greatness, and with the tournament coming to a place where he has made a new home, do we really think he'd want to miss it?
Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports and the author of the FOX Sports Insider newsletter. Follow him on Twitter @MRogersFOX and subscribe to the daily newsletter.
