Nicolas Tagliafico said Argentina will do everything in their power to give Lionel Messi the perfect send-off by defending their World Cup crown at the 2026 tournament.
Tagliafico, who insisted the squad is fully committed to supporting Messi "until the very end," described the moment as special because Messi is their captain and leader, and said the team will work together as they did in the last World Cup to make the 2026 campaign one to remember.
The stakes are obvious. Messi, who already has three major international titles with Argentina, has accumulated 48 trophies across club and country, eight Ballon d’Ors and a place in history with five previous World Cups. He will turn 39 in June during the 2026 tournament, which would be his sixth World Cup appearance. Messi holds the record for the most World Cup match appearances on 26 and is Argentina’s top World Cup scorer with 13 goals, including the two he struck in the 2022 final as Argentina beat France.
Argentina enter 2026 among the favourites after topping CONMEBOL qualifying by nine points, and Messi himself contributed eight qualifying goals. The 2026 World Cup will be staged across Canada, Mexico and the United States and will expand to a 48-team format with an additional knockout round; Argentina will base their preparations in Kansas City.
Tagliafico warned that defending the title will be a different proposition because every opponent will target the champions. He said the bar has been set very high by their recent success and that the biggest challenge is to build on what they have already achieved. He stressed that the team understands they must give their maximum to reach the previous level again and that the intensity of the tournament will demand both physical and tactical contributions from senior players like him.
He also framed his role as changed by experience. "Much more experience, definitely," Tagliafico said, adding that he can now contribute in more tactical areas and physically as well. That added maturity, he implied, will be vital as Argentina navigates a deeper field and a longer route to the title.
Tension sits at the heart of the pledge. Messi may be playing his final international tournament in 2026, and Tagliafico conceded that nobody will be ready for the day the captain eventually steps away. At the same time, the expanded format and an extra knockout round mean more matches against hungry opponents, which will test squad depth and stamina in ways Argentina did not face in 2022.
There is also a record chase threaded through the tournament. Messi is three goals behind Miroslav Klose on the World Cup all-time scoring list and is tied with Just Fontaine on 13 World Cup goals achieved across five tournaments. If Argentina reach another final and Messi scores, he could move past those benchmarks; and because Niels Liedholm is the oldest goalscorer in a World Cup final at 35 years and 264 days, a goal from Messi at 39 would rewrite that record too.
For now the answer from the dressing room is clear: the squad is aligned around one purpose. Tagliafico’s message is straightforward — Argentina will defend the trophy and support Messi through what could be his final World Cup. The single question hanging over that pledge is whether age and an enlarged, more gruelling tournament will allow Messi to carry a title defence to its end.
