Argentina: Lionel Messi Confirms 2022 World Cup in Qatar Is His ‘Last One’

Argentina's soccer legend Lionel Messi has some sad news for soccer fans as he revealed that the 2022 World Cup happening in Qatar next month will be his final one.

ESPN noted that this will be the 35-year-old Argentinian's fifth World Cup, and he is looking to win what may be his first and only World Cup. The Paris Saint-Germaine F.C. star admitted that he feels nervous ahead of his final appearance at one of the biggest sporting events on Earth.

Messi sat down with Star Plus for an interview where he made the admission that this would be his final World Cup.

"There's some anxiety and nerves at the same time. It is the last one," he said.

Lionel Messi Talks About How Tough the World Cup Matches Will Be

Argentina is entering the World Cup high in confidence after winning the 2021 Copa America final against hosts Brazil. They remain a South American powerhouse, as they also enter not just as Copa America champions, but also for being unbeaten in their past 35 competitive matches.

However, Messi admitted that the matches they will have for the upcoming World Cup will be tough.

"In a World Cup, anything can happen. All the matches are very tough. The favorites don't always end up winning," Messi said.

He added that he does not know if they are the favorites, but did admit that they are always in consideration for winning it all because of the country's history of winning World Cups.

Messi also stated that he feels good physically, adding that he had a good preseason this year, which he did not do the year before. He stated that this is the key to starting off better.

He also talked about Argentina's heartbreaking defeats on the world stage, including being beaten by Germany in 2014 in the World Cup final, as well as the 2015 and 2016 heartbreaks in the Copa America finals against Chile.

Messi said that he had been playing for the Argentinian National Team for a long time now and said they had some spectacular moments like in 2014, 2015, and 2016, but ended up not winning it all. He said they have been heavily criticized for not being champions in those years, even after some spectacular games. "We did everything right until the finals," he admitted.

Other Players Might Also Be Playing Their Last World Cup in 2022

Lionel Messi is now 35, and his prime may be well behind him already. However, he might not be the only soccer star making his final World Cup appearance this year.

According to Bleacher Report, Uruguay's Luis Suarez (35), Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (37), Wales's Gareth Bale (32), France's Karim Benzema (34), and Poland's Robert Lewandowski (33) might not be appearing in 2026 for the next World Cup in North America.

As for Messi, he and Argentina will be opening their World Cup campaign against Saudi Arabia on November 22. They will be part of Group C, which will be pitting them against other tough teams like Mexico and Poland.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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