With less than four months until kickoff, the soccer world is eagerly awaiting the start of the 2026 World Cup, where Lionel Messi and Argentina will look to defend the title they secured at Qatar 2022. Amid the buildup, the Argentine captain offered his thoughts on the possibility of facing the Mexican National Team once again.
Following their most recent encounter in Qatarāwhere Argentina defeated Mexico 2-0āa heightened rivalry has developed between the two sides. While the historical head-to-head record heavily favors Argentina, Messi noted that he would prefer not to cross paths with the Mexicans in this edition of the tournament.
āWe meet often in World Cups and major competitions, in do-or-die moments,ā Messi said during a conversation with Tigres goalkeeper Nahuel Guzman on the Miro de AtrĆ”s podcast. āThe last time was in the group stageā¦ but now a beautiful opportunity is coming for you and the United States because playing at home has an influence, for better or worse. But anyway, hopefully we donāt face each other this timeā.
The 2022 group-stage match carried immense weight for Argentina, as a loss would have effectively eliminated them from the competition. Messi admitted that the squad entered that match with a palpable fear of an early exit.
Lionel Messi celebrates his goal vs Mexico in Qatar. (Getty Images)
āWe went into that game, sincerely, with fear,ā the Argentine admited. āSubconsciously, you think about the whole process we had been through and that we could be out in the first roundāand against Mexico, who are a team that always push us and where it has always been difficult for us to play. We had that fear of losing and not moving onā.
Messi addresses past tensions with Mexican fans
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Following the most recent clash between Argentina and Mexico in Qatar, viral footage from the locker room appeared to show the Argentine captain stepping on a Mexican jersey.
The images sparked significant backlash from fans who viewed the moment as a sign of disrespect, including a high-profile response from boxing star Canelo Alvarez, who famously warned Messi via social media.
However, Messi used his recent interview to clear the air, explaining that the situation was a misunderstanding of standard locker room culture that was blown out of proportion.
āThat is where the anger from the Mexicans toward me began, but it had nothing to do with [disrespect],ā Messi explained. āItās a normal situation in any match and any locker room. Anyone who has been inside a locker room knows that this is normalā.
The Inter Miami star further detailed the common practice of players swapping or discarding kits immediately after a game. āYou take off the jersey and put it there because itās soaked in sweat, just like your own. I take mine off and throw it down too; itās the most normal thing. I think it was made into something much bigger than it was,ā Messi added.
