Lionel Messi said Argentina will not be the obvious favorite for the Lionel Messi World Cup 2026, urging excitement but warning that several other teams arrive in better shape as groups and units.
The remark came as the 2026 tournament — the first in history to feature 48 participating nations and 104 matches — takes clearer shape ahead of its June 11 opening across the United States, Canada and Mexico. Messi, who won the World Cup with Argentina in Qatar in 2022, told reporters that Argentinians should get excited for another official competition but tempered that enthusiasm by naming rivals he sees as stronger on paper.
Messi listed France, Spain and Brazil among those with the pedigree to challenge, and added Germany and England to a short list of the game’s big powers. He also praised Portugal as a very competitive side and left room for an outside surprise, while insisting that “this Argentina team will always compete and give their best, just like they have since this group came together.” The comment echoed his broader line that, despite Argentina’s status as defending champions, other teams are coming in better as a group and as a team.
Those public cautions sit against a separate measure of expectations: a recent FourFourTwo power ranking put Argentina first in its Top 10 for the 2026 World Cup. The magazine placed Spain second, France third, Germany fourth and England fifth; Portugal came sixth, Brazil seventh, Uruguay eighth, the Netherlands ninth and Belgium tenth. FourFourTwo argued that Messi and head coach Lionel Scaloni continue to lead a squad showing world-class performance across all positions and singled out Spain under coach Luis de la Fuente for an improved attack and solid defence.
FourFourTwo’s profile of France noted the squad will again be a contender under Didier Deschamps, who the magazine said will step down after this tournament, and highlighted captain Kylian Mbappé and a deep bench as part of that case. Those observations underline two competing narratives shaping the run-up to 2026: a subjective view from Argentina’s captain that prioritizes current group cohesion among rivals, and an external ranking that still puts last tournament’s winners at the top.
Context sharpens the contrast. Argentina enter 2026 carrying the weight of the 2022 title, a fact that ensures scrutiny of every comment from Messi and his staff. At the same time, the tournament’s expansion to 48 teams and its 104 matches across three countries will change qualification paths, match schedules and the sheer logistics of defending a world title — realities that add new variables beyond any single power ranking or captain’s assessment.
The tension is simple: Messi is downplaying Argentina’s favoritism to make room for a realistic appraisal of rivals, yet independent rankings continue to place his team at No. 1. That gap raises immediate questions about how Argentina will be perceived in tournament pathways and draws, and whether a squad that conquered Qatar can repeat its feat under a broader, more crowded format.
The central question for fans and rivals alike is now clear: can Messi and Lionel Scaloni turn a first-place ranking and a 2022 title into another successful defence when the expanded 2026 World Cup opens on June 11 across the United States, Canada and Mexico? The answer will shape whether Messi’s caution was modesty or a prescient reading of a field arriving stronger, as he suggested.
