World Cup
Messi back as 2026 World Cup qualifiers kick off
After a dazzling start to his career in Major League Soccer, Lionel Messi returns to international duty with Argentina this week as South America’s long qualifying road to the 2026 World Cup kicks off on Thursday.
Nine months ago, Messi crowned his glittering career by leading Argentina to a World Cup crown in Qatar cementing his status as the greatest player of his generation.
Since that magical night in Doha, the diminutive 36-year-old superstar’s life has gone through a period of upheaval.
After an acrimonious end to his career with Paris Saint-Germain, Messi was courted by Saudi Arabia before ultimately deciding to forge a new chapter of his career with Inter Miami.
That move has proven to be an inspired decision, with Messi and his family settling in Florida seamlessly while enjoying success on the field, leading Inter to their first silverware and into the US Open Cup final.
Inter coach Gerard “Tata” Martino, the former Argentina and Barcelona player, says Messi has been “liberated” by finally leading Argentina to the World Cup last year after several agonising major championship near-misses.
But the question hanging in the air as South America’s qualifying campaign gets under way this week, is whether Messi will be around when Argentina aim to defend their title in 2026, when the tournament is co-hosted in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Messi appeared to pour cold water on that prospect in comments made in June, saying he did not expect to play in the 2026 finals.
However he later admitted in an interview in July he had no clear idea of when he plans to call time on his international career.
“Even I don’t know when. It’ll happen when it happens,” Messi told Argentine media.
“After winning everything I want to enjoy the moment and wait for time to tell me when it’s the moment.
“Logically, given my age, one would expect it to be soon, but I don’t know for sure.”
‘Door always open’
Argentina’s World Cup-winning manager Lionel Scaloni is certainly in no mood to force the issue.
Scaloni is on record as saying that a place in the 2026 squad will be Messi’s for the asking if he chooses.
“I think Messi can get to the next World Cup,” Scaloni said in January.
“It will depend a lot on what he wants, on whether he feels good.
“The door will always be open. He is happy on the pitch and it would be very nice for us.”
While the questions may continue to swirl around Messi’s future in future, there is less uncertainty about Argentina’s prospects for qualification for the World Cup.
The expanded 48-team finals in 2026 mean that six of the 10 teams competing in South American qualifying, which will be completed in September 2025, will qualify automatically for the finals. The seventh place team will advance to a playoff.
Given Argentina’s strength, it would take an upset of mammoth proportions for them to fail to qualify automatically for 2026.
Messi and Argentina’s qualifying journey gets under way with a home fixture against Ecuador at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires on Thursday, before the team face Bolivia in La Paz next Tuesday.
Other games on Thursday see Paraguay take on Peru, while Colombia host Venezuela.
Friday sees two more fixtures, with Uruguay playing Chile in Montevideo while five-time World Cup winners Brazil make their entrance against Bolivia in Belem.
Brazil enter qualifying in a state of flux, with a new manager in Fernando Diniz, who took over from predecessor Tite in the wake of the Selecao’s World Cup quarter-final exit to Croatia last year.
Whether Diniz will be in charge when Brazil arrive at the finals though is anyone’s guess, with the South Americans long believed to be targeting Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti to lead the team to the finals.
Brazil’s preparations for qualifying have also been disrupted by controversy around Manchester United winger Antony, who was dropped from the squad this week after revelations of assault made by an ex-girlfriend.
Antony, who denies the claims, has been replaced by Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus.
-AFP
Canada Soccer cheekily courted Italy’s crestfallen supporters on Saturday, urging them to swap their Azzurri blue strips for maple leaf red after the four-time champions suffered another World Cup failure.
“Dear Italian soccer fans, don’t wait four more years. Swap your jersey for Canada,” the sports governing body posted on X on Friday, directing fans to gather outside Cafe Diplomatico, a popular restaurant in Toronto’s Little Italy neighbourhood.
The light-hearted appeal followed Italy’s third consecutive failure to qualify for the World Cup after a playoff defeat by Bosnia on Tuesday, a setback that led to the resignations of coach Gennaro Gattuso and federation president Gabriele Gravina.
Canada, who will co-host the World Cup alongside Mexico and the United States, seized the moment to call for fans to support their country instead.
Local media reported hundreds of supporters queued for the Italy-for-Canada jersey exchange, though the offer proved more symbolic than transactional. Canada Soccer handed out 2026 shirts and posters to fans — and did so without collecting a single Italian jersey in return.
-Reuters
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World Cup
Nigeria and Other Top-Ranked Teams Missing At 2026 World Cup Raise Questions Over Global Football Balance
By Kunle Solaja.
Despite the expansion of the FIFA World Cup to 48 teams, several high-profile nations—including some ranked within the top 30 globally—will not feature at the 2026 finals in the United States, Mexico and Canada, underlining the increasingly unforgiving nature of modern qualification.
The most striking absence is the four-time world champions Italy national football team, who failed to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup after losing on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the European playoffs.
Once a permanent fixture at the global showpiece, Italy’s continued absence has triggered widespread criticism at home, with many describing the situation as a national sporting crisis.
Europe’s Big Casualties
Italy are not alone among Europe’s elite in missing out. Countries such as Denmark’s national football team, Poland’s national football team and Serbia’s national football team, all of whom have consistently hovered around the top tiers of FIFA rankings in recent years, also failed to make the cut.
Poland’s elimination is particularly significant, as it likely marks the end of World Cup ambitions for veteran striker Robert Lewandowski, while Denmark’s absence comes after years of steady progress on the international stage.
Serbia, boasting a generation of technically gifted players, were also among those eliminated during the qualification process.
African Heavyweights Left Out
Africa will send a record number of teams to the expanded tournament, yet notable absentees remain.
Three-time African champions Nigeria national football team and five-time AFCON winners Cameroon national football team both failed to qualify after disappointing campaigns.
Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions are among Africa’s big names missing at the World Cup.
Nigeria’s absence is particularly glaring given the quality of players such as Victor Osimhen, while Cameroon fell short despite a squad featuring several Europe-based stars.
South American Decline
In South America, the Chile national football team continue their dramatic fall from grace. Once Copa América champions, Chile finished bottom of the CONMEBOL qualifying table, extending their World Cup absence to three editions.
Emerging Pattern: Expansion Without Guarantees
The absence of these established football nations highlights a key reality: even with 48 slots, World Cup qualification remains fiercely competitive.
While debutants such as Cape Verde, Curaçao and Uzbekistan have secured historic places at the finals, traditional powers have faltered under pressure.
Analysts note that this shift reflects a broader trend in global football—greater parity, improved development structures in smaller nations, and declining dominance of traditional heavyweights.
A World Cup Without Familiar Faces
The 2026 tournament will therefore present a unique landscape—one where emerging nations share the stage while several established powers watch from home.
For fans, it promises freshness and unpredictability. For the absent giants, however, it serves as a stark reminder that reputation alone is no longer enough to secure a place at football’s biggest event.
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By Kunle Solaja.
A remarkable storyline is emerging ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as no fewer than seven countries have secured returns to the global football showpiece after prolonged absences spanning decades.
Leading the list are Haiti and DR Congo, both of which are back on the World Cup stage after an astonishing 52-year absence. Haiti last featured at the tournament in 1974, the same year DR Congo, then known as Zaire, made their only previous appearance.
European sides Scotland national football team, Norway national football team and Austria national football team are also ending 28-year waits.
Scotland’s last outing came in 1998, while Norway and Austria have similarly endured long spells away from the competition despite periods of promise in European football.
South America will see the return of the Paraguay national football team, who are back after a 16-year hiatus, having last appeared at the 2010 finals in South Africa.
On the African continent, the South Africa national football team will make a long-awaited comeback after 16 years, their previous participation coming when they hosted the tournament in 2010.
The wave of returning nations highlights the expanding opportunities created by the enlarged 48-team format for the 2026 World Cup, which will be staged across Canada, the United States and Mexico.
For many of these countries, qualification marks not just a sporting achievement but a generational milestone, rekindling national pride and offering a new era of players the chance to perform on football’s biggest stage after decades in the wilderness.
With traditional powers and returning underdogs set to collide, the 2026 tournament is already shaping up to be one of the most diverse and unpredictable in World Cup history.
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