The 2026 World Cup is getting closer, and everything is still to be defined regarding the final list of official squads. What generated uncertainty and speculation was the message Rodrigo De Paul sent to Lionel Messi on his social media. Argentina’s No. 10, already with the competition in mind, made his list of favorites to win it.
On Instagram, De Paul uploaded a reposted image of Messi and himself with the following message: “My friend and my idol! Thank you for teaching me and helping me fulfill every one of my dreams!” De Paul added, along with a red heart emoji. “Always by your side no matter what,” De Paul concluded.
What was also curious about this post was the song that accompanied it, “Nos Veremos Otra Vez” (We’ll meet again) by Seru Giran. The title generated doubts about what he meant by the message, but there was context behind it. De Paul reposted his own publication, where he uploaded several photos of things that mattered in his life, and he reposted each one with a different message. There were photos of his children, his girlfriend, soccer, and his brother.
De Paul doubtful for the World Cup?
That was one of the doubts being raised. De Paul had received a lot of criticism since arriving at Inter Miami, regarding his performances, which put his call-up with Argentina into question, and whether he would really be part of the squad for the 2026 World Cup.
Rodrigo De Paul’s message on Instagram.
But it was almost a fact that he would be there. De Paul is a key piece in Scaloni’s system, and he was a player who had always received criticism but had still been called up and proved that with Argentina, he was a completely different player who performed without any doubts.
Messi and De Paul’s last match
In Inter Miami’s last match, where Messi and De Paul shared the field, Messi scored one goal and delivered two assists to become the fastest player to reach 100 goal contributions in MLS history, and Inter Miami defeated Toronto FC 4-2 on Saturday to extend their road winning streak to six matches.
De Paul scored and provided two assists to help Inter Miami recover from a 4-3 home loss against Orlando City after leading 3-0. The club had three draws and one loss at home since moving to Nu Stadium.
De Paul scored after a free kick and a rebound in 44′ minute to give Inter Miami a 1-0 lead. The midfielder controlled the ball after it bounced off the wall and hit a second shot that struck the left post and went into the net.
