Lionel Messi and Argentina Challenge 64-Year-Old Brazilian Record at the 2026 World Cup

Lionel Messi and Argentina are targeting Brazil's 64-year-old record at the 2026 World Cup.

Published on May 31, 2026, at 17:15 WIB

Bola.com, Jakarta - When Argentina won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, many thought Lionel Messi would retire from international football with a perfect career.

The trophy that had been missing from his illustrious career was finally achieved.

At that time, the Argentine squad united behind their captain. Messi performed exceptionally throughout the tournament and led La Albiceleste to their first world title since Diego Maradona's era at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

However, his retirement from the national team, which was expected by many, never really happened.

Despite being close to 40 years old, Messi can still maintain a very high level of play.

This is why, when Argentina secured their ticket to the 2026 World Cup in North America, the chances of the megastar returning to the biggest stage in football seemed difficult to avoid.

It's not just because he has the opportunity to play in the World Cup finals for the sixth time. Argentina also has a much bigger mission: to defend their world title.

If they succeed, Argentina will become the third country in World Cup history to win two consecutive titles.

San Francisco Bay Area Stadium in Santa Clara will host six World Cup 2026 matches, including the knockout stages.

Before Argentina's national team coach, Lionel Scaloni, announced the final list of 26 players for the 2026 World Cup, there were doubts about Messi's involvement.

The reason was a hamstring injury he suffered while playing for Inter Miami in the last MLS match before the mid-season break.

However, Scaloni never really considered leaving Messi out as long as the player expressed his willingness to join.

In Argentina's squad this time, there are 17 players who were also part of the World Cup-winning team in Qatar. Scaloni chose to maintain the foundation of the team that has proven to be successful.

Messi, who is now 38 years old, is still projected to play a central role in Argentina's efforts to defend their title.

Their target is not an easy one. In the 96-year history of the World Cup, only two countries have managed to defend their title.

Italy was the first to do so after winning the 1934 and 1938 World Cups under the guidance of Vittorio Pozzo. After that, Brazil repeated the achievement by becoming champions in 1958 and 1962.

Since Brazil's success 64 years ago, no country has been able to do it again.

Argentina once came close to achieving this. After becoming champions in 1986, the team led by Maradona reached the 1990 World Cup final but lost to West Germany on penalties.

Brazil also failed to defend their title after winning the 1994 World Cup. Four years later, they lost to France in the final, which was marked by drama before the match regarding Ronaldo's condition.

France then became champions again in 2018 and almost repeated the achievement in Qatar four years later.

Thanks to Kylian Mbappe's hat-trick, Les Bleus forced the 2022 World Cup final to go to a penalty shootout. In one of the greatest finals in World Cup history, Argentina eventually emerged as the winner and cemented Messi's legacy at the highest level of football.

Interestingly, the status of being the defending champion often becomes a burden in the modern era. Apart from France in 2022, most defending champions have struggled to make an impact in the next edition.

In fact, in four of the last six World Cups, the defending champions have failed to advance from the group stage.

History shows that defending the title is much harder than winning it for the first time.

France, the 1998 champions, was eliminated in the group stage in 2002. Italy suffered the same fate after winning the 2006 World Cup. Spain, which won the 2010 World Cup, also stopped in the group stage four years later.

Germany also experienced the same thing after becoming champions in 2014.

Now, Argentina faces the same challenge. Messi and his teammates are not only chasing their second consecutive title but also trying to break the bad trend that has haunted defending champions for the past two decades.

To find the last example of a successful title defense, Argentina has to look back at Brazil's achievement in 1962.

Four years earlier, a teenage Pele helped Brazil win their first World Cup title after scoring six goals in the knockout stages and erasing the trauma of losing to Uruguay in 1950.

When Brazil came to Chile as defending champions in 1962, the face of world football had already begun to change.

The open play that produced many goals in the 1950s was slowly being replaced by a more pragmatic approach that focused on neutralizing the opponent's strength.

Brazil still maintained most of the framework of their 1958 championship team but made important tactical adjustments. The aggressive 4-2-4 formation evolved into a more balanced 4-3-3, providing better protection at the back.

A thigh injury made Pele unable to be the mainstay. In this situation, Garrincha emerged as the deciding factor.

The legendary winger slowly took over the central role and became the star of Brazil throughout the tournament.

Brazil advanced from the group stage without a loss before defeating England 3-1 in the quarterfinals, thanks to two goals from Garrincha.

In the semifinal against host Chile, Garrincha scored two more goals in a 4-2 win. He was given a red card after being involved in an incident with an opponent, but the punishment was later revoked by the Peruvian referee, Arturo Yamasaki.

This decision allowed Garrincha to play in the final against Czechoslovakia.

In the final match, Brazil was initially behind. However, their quality was still too strong for the opponent to handle.

Selecao turned the situation around and won convincingly 3-1 to defend their World Cup title.

In that match, Vava made history as the first player to score goals in two different World Cup finals.

Brazil's dominance continued until the mid-1960s before finally collapsing in the 1966 World Cup campaign.

Since Brazil's success in 1962, no country has been able to defend the World Cup trophy. Now, Messi and Argentina are trying to end the long wait that has lasted for more than six decades.