Topic: FIFA World Cup 2026 :Canada/Mexico/United States: Discussion Thread - page 80. (Read 62790 times)

It seems like you are too sure and really believe in Messi performance, but that natural because so far it can be acknowledged that he is great player and many people really make Messi their own admiration for the figure of football player they idolize.
Apart from that, only Messi, who for several years has always been competitor for Ronaldo, who we consider to be the best player of all time in his era, but sorry, I didn't think about Messi that far.
Maybe he will still be core player for Argentina if he really takes part in strengthening Argentina for the 2026 World Cup, but I not sure that in that competition Messi will still be able to play well according to exexpectations.
For Argentina itself is certain that they will get tickets for the 2026 World Cup competition or it could be said that Argentina has guarantee of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.

When it comes to fan base of footballers there's no doubt that Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are two two most flowered footballers in the history of the game so having them compete in the next edition of the FIFA World Cup tournament will definitely increase the number of spectators than the number the tournament will record without their presence. Currently in the world of football, almost all the football fans are either a fan of the Portuguese superstar or a fan of the Argentine genius.
They've done their best to make football become more global and acceptable than it was before they came to limelight so it'll be a great experience to see the duo play in the next edition of the FIFA World Cup which will definitely be their last in the competition. The world of football will definitely be left in deep emotions whenever those two footballers decide to retire from the game and doing it at the FIFA World Cup tournament will definitely be the best place for them to announce their retirement from the beautiful round leather game.

You are right, players who have big names like them have their own charm to attract a lot of attention, all eyes will be on them, therefore it will bring profits to those who have them. For example, the Saudi Pro League, did we pay attention to that league before Cristiano Ronaldo arrived? I think we are not that interested in watching every match there, but when Ronaldo joined one of the clubs there (Al Nassr) we all started to pay more attention to the Saudi Pro League. Even at the beginning we knew that many stations wanted to broadcast Saudi Pros League matches and that was a large number.

The World Cup is the same, apart from the fact that the World Cup is something we are waiting for, we will also wait for famous players to appear there and how they will perform during the World Cup. Football cannot be separated from business, because these two things are interconnected and it is not surprising that many rich people invest in big clubs.

I agree with you. Both players have had a huge impact on the world cup. Because of that, I am sure that Fifa and the entire committee from the organizing country really hope that both players can appear in the 2026 World Cup. Of course their performance is no longer at the same level but they can have an impact on their respective national teams. Ronaldo has a leadership spirit and Messi can be an example for young players. The 2026 world cup will be the last world cup for both players. I hope to see their performance on that big stage one last time. And after that I'm sure the era will change.

The fan base behind players like Ronaldo or Messi can bring a lot of benefits to the organizers of the 2026 World Cup. The situation makes them win-win, even though the two players are in fact no longer young, the bargaining power they have is in another form. can influence World Cup events. Ronaldo has big ambitions to continue playing, he has not yet tasted winning the World Cup trophy, therefore he is motivated to extend his contract with Al Nassr. The Portuguese national team will always provide a place for him, Ronaldo influence in the national team is quite large, just like Messi in the Argentine national team. We hope that both players can take part in the next World Cup, even though we realize they are no longer at the same level.

Its not problem with Cristiano Ronaldo extended his contract until 2027 with Al Nassr because always get regular position in Euro 2026 Qualifier round and become top scorer for Portugal national team. I think Ronaldo has consistent performance and reach to most scoring goals in Saudi Pro League competition will make him get one slot for Portugal national team in World Cup 2026.
Left two years later and still interested with rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, I think both of them currently has quit well and consistent performance with their each club although not on the highest level competition but still get bigger appearance for joining their national team in World Cup 2026.
Unfortunately, Cristiano Ronaldo fans want to see their idol get winning the last World Cup appearance because little impossible for Ronaldo or Lionel Messi for participating in world cup 2030.

Yeah, to be honest I think it's all about money really at this point.

The club wants these types of players to bring the crowds and therefore the money.

The same with the world cup, these are the faces we get to see in every ad about the world cup.

And for them as well, they make a huge amount of money, so why retire.

I read the news last month from the local media, and it was also reported that both parties, Ronaldo and the club, had the same wish for the Portuguese player to stay longer at Al-Nassr, but so far I have not found any official news regarding the contract extension that this is true agreement was reached.
For the club, Ronaldo's presence has had a lot of positive influence even though he has not yet managed to win a title for his club, and for Ronaldo playing longer at Al-Nassr will allow him to show his great motivation to continue playing and defend his country's national team in the 2026 World Cup, he would prefer to be a player in the World Cup later than as an assistant, and I also see him not as a player who will choose a coaching career later when he retires so being an assistant doesn't seem like what he wants.

No, Ronaldo already stated that he wants to extend his contract with Al Nassr until 2027 because he still wants to play in the 2026 World Cup.
And to achieve that, he needs to play regularly, the Portugal manager also has stated that Ronaldo will definitely be brought to the 2026 World Cup, either as a player or as his assistant.

Even though Ronaldo and Messi will still play in the World Cup, they wont play for the full 90 minutes, their physicality and speed can no longer match other young players.

I agree with you. The 2026 world cup will be the last world cup for the two GOATs and will end the rivalry they have built over the years. We will all miss the moment when our two GOATs played. Of course it would be very interesting if the two of them became coaches and developed new young stars in the future.

But if I became a coach I think Ronaldo would be more successful than Messi. Ronaldo is a player with high discipline and extraordinary hard work. He can be a great coach for young players because he has the character of a leader. Messi is an alien who is blessed with extraordinary talent in football but it is impossible to coach if your career is supported by your extraordinary talent.

It looks like the possibility of Ronaldo retiring before the 2026 World Cup will become a reality, and he will decide to retire when he is 40 years old. Al Nassr will be the last club in his professional career, and Euro 2024 will be Ronaldo last event playing for the Portuguese national team. If this really happens, Ronaldo certainly has many choices and opportunities to remain part of the Portuguese national team. Even though the competition between Ronaldo and Messi is over, many people still miss their action at an event as big as the World Cup. Meanwhile, Messi will most likely remain part of Argentina main squad, and it looks like Messi will retire after that.

Apart from speculation about the future of these two mega stars, the fact that cannot be avoided is that they are no longer young. Injuries are quite prone to players their age, which can hinder their future ambitions. Of course we hope that both players avoid injury, and to be honest, In my opinion, Messi is more likely to participate in the 2026 World Cup, considering that he is slightly younger than Ronaldo. What is certain is that the World Cup will still be entertaining, there will be young players who will shine, and it will always be interesting for us to follow every match.

There is no doubt now things are going pretty hard for the Cristiano Ronaldo with most chance he will be retired before world cup 2026, or maybe he will be part of the team but not as player which could be also good for them because currently he is almost 39, and he could be over 41 as we will go for the next world cup which is important for their team even his presence could be beneficial, but they need to be had youngsters with Messi is going to be important part of the team because he is doing good, and he had good time with even he can play few more years which could be good for him and his team which is going to be team to watch in next world cup with things are still clearly favourable for them to have another cup before his retirement.

The time that we won't be able to watch Messi and Ronaldo on the pitch is closing in and there is nothing to do about it.    I would really like to see both of these legends in coach roles in the future. Maybe helping with new young stars to flourish or maybe even coaching a team? I wonder if any of them is thinking of such career change.

For example Xabi Alonso has become a coach and he is achieving great things already. Not every great football player is becoming a great coach as well though. But I feel positive about Ronaldo and Messi both about it. 

Maybe Ronaldo will get retired even before Messi because it seems in Argentina they count on Messi and they want to see this player play for their team in the 2026 World Cup. Because we saw in the past months Scaloni had some problems with Messi and it was a little bit weird but because of this problem they had, Scaloni was even about to start working with Argentina, he was about to leave just because of one player.
I think Messi won't have a good performance anymore in the 2026 World Cup and we can't expect to see too much from him but in the Qatar World Cup people in Argentina saw their superstar player help their team too much and now they expect to see the same performance from him in 2026.

Lionel Messi is yet to retire from international football and for a footballer of his hallowed status, he remains the captain of the Argentina national team until whenever he deems it fit to leave the national team of his beloved country. Because of the sacrifices Lionel Messi have made for the national team and and how dedicated he was to make sure the country win the last edition of the FIFA World Cup, there are privileges that he'll keep enjoying regardless the number of games he plays with the Argentina national team.
The 2026 Copa America will be played in the summer of which Lionel Messi is expected to play alongside his Argentina teammates but even if he fails to make it to the tournament, that wouldn't make the national team coach to drop him from his next World Cup squad if Messi stays fit before the next edition of the FIFA World Cup. He's earned that right and there's nothing the national team coach can do about it

Yes, it is the competition that really gave Argentina the World Cup title and Lionel Scaloni success has made him confident in extending his contract again to repeat his good performance at the 2026 World Cup.
He is like player who does not perform well on the field, Messi looks tired very easily and if there were no big contributions from his teammates then he would not be able to get this title.
In my opinion, Argentina victory cannot be separated from the contribution of Emiliano Martinez as Argentina goalkeeper, who always performs well and can really guard his goal to avoid conceding goals.

Well, we see what it will be like, but for now, seeing how Messi is on the pitch in every match, I sure his performance at the 2026 World Cup will definitely not live up to expectations.
Moreover, several other national teams that will take part in the 2026 World Cup are now starting to build the best possible team with the dominant use of young or productive players, this clearly improves the quality of performance in the team.

I remember when the Qatar World Cup ended and Scaloni and his players won the tournament, they were so happy especially because Messi was the key player for this team and he had an effective performance during the last World Cup. Even some people think Messi was the payer who made Argentina win the World Cup and without him, they couldn't win anything. That's why Scalonithe coach of Argentina after the World Cup said they will definitely use Messi in the next World Cup regardless of his age. Since he is not retired yet, maybe this player will have a much higher chance for the 2026 World Cup to play for his team.

With the current performance and available squad I have strong feeling Argentina is capable of winning this event which is going to start from 20th June and host country is USA 16 countries are going to participate, and we are having no strong candidate in this event like Argentina even Brazil is having capability to do anything but their problems are not allowing them to have anything possible for quick wins and having good and strong case for the world cup 2026.
Argentinian coach done good job with this announcement because this will make things positive and good for the team and Lionel Messi will be tried to deliver his best for having good results in this event with now problems are also settled between Lionel Scaloni and Lionel Messi which are also going to have good impact on their performance and teams depth.

There are some more geniuses than just Messi, but being in the right team at the right time is an important factor for any player in any team sport to exploit their full potential. Everyone knows this sentence that if Messi didn't play for Barcelona, he wouldn't have been as good. Lol, of course not! But how is that the result of in depth analysis when in fact it is true because it is true for everyone. Haaland could never reach the level he reaches playing for Manchester City when he is on tour with his Norwegian national team. But that's not a surprise. Strong midfielders make any striker stronger as they understand timing and passing better than weak midfielders. Messi would have never won a World Cup if he was from Luxembourg.

I think a certain level of the team as a whole is necessary to bring out the best of any player in the world. If Messi played for a weak team, he would be running into a wall all the time as he couldn't enfold his dribbling, let alone his understanding of the game, his ability to read what opponents will do and what teammates will do.

Zidane was a beast in reading the game. Ronaldinho had his very own style that was so much fun to watch. Insane. R9 was a machine, too.

But now let's see how all these great players who are still around will do at the EURO or at the Copa. The World Cup is still a long way to go and I am not sure anymore whether Ronaldo and Messi would still play an important role in 2026. Maybe they are part of the team, but their role might be much smaller than it used to be for their teams.

But Argentina coach previously stated that if Messi wants to be able to play in the 2026 World Cup then he must be able to lead Argentina to win the 2024 Copa America.
This is statement made by Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni to Messi and many people already know this because the statement came out several months ago.
It just that looking at the Copa America, Argentina is national team that has the potential to win it now and it is certain that Messi might be able to complete the challenge that has been given by Lionel Scaloni.
Moreover, Messi can no longer play well and Messi has shown really significant decline in performance, even though he helped Argentina win the Copa America and was included in Argentina squad for the 2026 World Cup, I sure many will be on the bench.