BUENOS AIRES, Nov 4(ABC): Lionel Messi has been building up to this moment, aware that his fifth World Cup with Argentina almost certainly represents his last chance to get his hands on the trophy.
In July he reported back a week early for pre-season training with Paris Saint-Germain and since then he has looked like a man on a mission, determined to head to Qatar in the best shape possible.
After a difficult first year at PSG in which he struggled to overcome the trauma of his departure from Barcelona, Messi is now back to something like his best and has scored or assisted 26 goals in 18 games for his club this season.
Meanwhile, in Argentina a nation has been holding its breath, hoping the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner does not succumb to an untimely injury.
Messi first went to a World Cup as a teenager in 2006 and has scored a record 90 goals from a record 164 caps.
He captained Argentina to the final of the 2014 World Cup but 2018 was a desperate disappointment, with Jorge Sampaoli’s side losing in the last 16 to a France team featuring Kylian Mbappe, now Messi’s teammate in Paris.
Now aged 35, Messi goes to Qatar remarkably still looking to score his first goal in the knockout stages of a World Cup, never mind actually win it.
“I feel good physically at the moment. Better than last year, when I arrived at PSG. But when I said this could be my last World Cup, I did so because of my age. After this one finishes we will see how I’m feeling,” he said in a recent interview with Directv Sports.
“For us, like for all Argentines, it is difficult to be calm, because we are contenders to win the World Cup.
“But to win the World Cup you need lots of things to go in your favour, in any given match or in the competition as a whole. But we are going there to fight and we are ready to take on anyone.”
Different role
If Messi is to emulate Diego Maradona, who led Argentina to their last World Cup triumph in 1986, he cannot do it alone.
There may be nobody as good as him on Lionel Scaloni’s side, but they appear a much more convincing team than four years ago, when they were fortunate just to get out of their group in Russia.
Argentina go to Qatar on a 35-game unbeaten run that includes their victory in last year’s Copa America, their first major tournament success since 1993.
There are more survivors from 2018, including Angel Di Maria, who scored the winner against Brazil at the Maracana in that Copa America final.