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Lionel Messi’s Road to the 2026 FIFA World Cup: Argentina’s Title Defence Begins With Qualifiers
Joel Reyes
updated at September 29, 2023 at 9:26 AM
In this article:
- Argentina will play 18 games in total in the South American section of World Cup qualification
- They started their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign with a 1-0 win over Ecuador
- The top six CONMEBOL teams at the end of the qualifiers will earn spots in the 2026 World Cup
Lionel Messi grabbed the headlines months ago when he said that he wouldn’t be playing in the 2026 World Cup. He has plenty of time to change his mind with the quadrennial event still three years away from happening.
Messi hasn’t called time yet on his international career, with the Inter Miami star included in Argentina’s squad for their opening World Cup qualifiers.
Source: Getty Images
Sports Brief examines Messi’s road to the 2026 World Cup as Argentina begin their title defence.
South America's qualification format
CONMEBOL petitioned FIFA on August 22, 2022, to keep the qualification format they have been using since before the 1998 World Cup, per BolaVIP.
The governing body approved CONMEBOL’s petition, meaning all ten members will play home-and-away round-robin matches against each other to determine their World Cup representatives.
The top six South American teams at the end of the qualification round will advance to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The qualification matches started on September 7, 2023, and will finish in September 2025.
Argentina’s World Cup qualifiers schedule
Matchday | Date | Opponent | Result | Score |
1 | September 7, 2023 | Ecuador (H) | Win | 1-0 |
2 | September 12, 2023 | Bolivia (A) | Win | 3-0 |
3 | October 12, 2023 | Paraguay (H) | ||
4 | October 17, 2023 | Peru (A) | ||
5 | November 2023 | Uruguay (H) | ||
6 | November 2023 | Brazil (A) | ||
7 | September 2024 | Chile (H) | ||
8 | September 2024 | Colombia (A) | ||
9 | October 2024 | Venezuela (A) | ||
10 | October 2024 | Bolivia (H) | ||
11 | November 2024 | Paraguay (A) | ||
12 | November 2024 | Peru (H) | ||
13 | March 2025 | Uruguay (A) | ||
14 | March 2025 | Brazil (H) | ||
15 | June 2025 | Chile (A) | ||
16 | June 2025 | Colombia (H) | ||
17 | September 2025 | Venezuela (H) | ||
18 | September 2025 | Ecuador (A) |
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Argentina already started their campaign on September 7, beating Ecuador 1-0 in Buenos Aires, per Yahoo. Messi starred for the reigning World Cup champs in that victory, scoring a free-kick goal in the 78th minute.
La Albiceleste followed up with a convincing win in tough conditions in La Paz, Bolivia. The defending world champions won that encounter 3-0, with Messi on the sidelines.
Inter Miami's stats with and without Messi
Sports Brief also compared the performances of Inter Miami with and without Messi after he missed the recent US Open Cup final against Houston Dynamo.
The Argentine star has been dealing with muscle fatigue since helping his country beat Ecuador in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers, where he had scored.
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