Sergio Gallardo

Leo Messi's last chance

Argentina

Argentina comes into the World Cup stronger than ever. The defending Copa America champions are the second favorite to win the title after Brazil.

Under Lionel Scaloni, Argentina hasn't been defeated since 2019. He equaled the second best national teams winning streak in history with 35 games.

Messi has exceeded 90 goals in over 160 games. Even so, Maradona criticized him at the time: "Someone who goes to the bathroom 20 times before playing cannot be a leader."

In his World Cup debut at the age of 19 in Germany 2006, Messi played 3 games with just one start and scored his first goal. He lost on penalties in the quarterfinals against the hosts.

In South Africa 2010 with Maradona, Messi was already an established player. He had a Ballon d'Or and that year, he would win his second. Despite this, he fell in the quarterfinals 4-0 against Germany.

  Brazil 2014 was Messi's heyday. He scored four goals, received four MVPs and led his team to the final, but Germany snatched his dream yet again.

In Russia 2018, Argentina performed a miracle in the group stage. Messi scored a decisive goal against Nigeria on matchday three, but lost to France in the round of 16.

Despite the fact that Argentina is a favorite, Messi has nightmares about the World Cup: "People think we already have the trophy, but no," he said in an interview with Pablo Giralt.