Argentina Chases World Cup Repeat As Messi Nears Final Act

BusinessSportsMoneyArgentina Chases World Cup Repeat As Messi Nears Final ActByClemente Lisi,Contributor.Follow AuthorJun 07, 2026, 03:51pm EDTJun 07, 2026, 03:53pm EDTBUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA - SEPTEMBER 04: Lionel Messi of Argentina celebrates after scoring the team's third goal during the South American FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier match between Argentina and Venezuela at Estadio Más Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti on September 04, 2025 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Photo by Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images)Getty ImagesWinning one World Cup is the ultimate achievement. Winning two in a row is one of the sport’s rarest accomplishments. Only Italy in 1938 and Brazil in 1962 have successfully defended a men’s World Cup title, a reflection of how difficult it is to remain at the summit across multiple tournament cycles. Four years can transform national teams, alter competitive landscapes and erode the physical and mental advantages that made champions successful in the first place. As Argentina prepares for the FIFA World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada, it faces precisely that challenge: Not just winning the sport’s biggest prize again, but accomplishing something no nation has managed in more than six decades.The task is made even more significant by the presence of Lionel Messi. Argentina’s captain arrives at what is widely expected to be his last World Cup, creating a narrative that extends beyond trophies and statistics. For Argentina, the tournament represents the chance to achieve a historic feat while providing a fitting conclusion to the era of the player who ultimately fulfilled the dreams of a football-obsessed nation by lifting the World Cup in Qatar four years earlier.There is a striking historical symmetry to Argentina’s return to North America. The last time the United States hosted the World Cup in 1994, the tournament became synonymous with one of the darkest moments in Argentine history. Diego Maradona, the nation’s greatest icon at...