Messi's sixth World Cup: the full story

Six tournaments, one defining arc

Messi's World Cup story is unlike any other in the sport's history. He arrived in Germany in 2006 as a teenager on the fringes of a squad built around others. By South Africa 2010 he was the main man — and Argentina went out in the quarter-finals. Brazil 2014 brought him to the final, a Golden Ball in hand, a 1-0 defeat to Germany in extra time, and a look on his face that said everything. Russia 2018 was chaos — a group-stage scare, a last-16 exit to France, and a performance level that felt, for the first time, mortal.

Then came Qatar 2022. The final against France. 3-3 after extra time. The penalty shootout. The trophy. The image of Messi lifting the World Cup in a black bisht is already one of the most reproduced photographs in football history — and it changed the framing of everything that came before it.

What a second title would mean

He arrives in 2026 not as a man chasing redemption — he already has that — but as something rarer: a champion who came back anyway. At 38 years old during the tournament, playing his club football with Inter Miami in MLS, the questions about his fitness and form heading in are real ones. Neither BBC Sport nor ESPN FC have detailed the condition of his preparation, and Argentina's coaching staff will have assessed that carefully before confirming his place.

But if the fitness holds — and if Argentina, one of the tournament favourites as reigning champions, go deep — the possibility of Messi lifting a second World Cup trophy exists. Two titles, six tournaments, the greatest player the sport has produced. There is no argument left to have after that.

The record itself

The sixth-tournament milestone matters beyond Messi specifically. Only a handful of players have reached five World Cups — Antonio Carbajal, Lothar Matthäus, Rafael Márquez, Gianluigi Buffon, Andrés Guardado, Cristiano Ronaldo. None of them made it to six. Messi, confirmed in the squad according to BBC Sport and ESPN FC, is now in territory no outfield player has ever occupied.

He didn't make a speech about it. He rarely does.