Argentina hopes Messi will play at 2026 World Cup even as team wins without him

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Argentina is proving it can win without Lionel Messi, just in case he opts not to play in the 2026 World Cup.

After Argentina secured a spot in next year’s competition, the main question now is whether the 37-year-old star will play in his sixth tournament and try to win back-to-back championships.

“We will see what happens, there’s plenty of time,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. “We must go one game a time otherwise (we) will be speaking about the same thing the rest of the year and we need to leave him alone, we will see. He will decide it whenever he wants, let’s not drive him crazy with this.”

On Tuesday, hours after Argentina qualified for the next World Cup, it went out and handed Brazil its worst-ever loss World Cup qualifying — a 4-1 thrashing. That was days after Argentina’s 1-0 victory at Uruguay.

Both victories came without Messi. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner had been ruled out after sustaining a low-grade adductor muscle injury.

Messi, who captained Argentina to the 2022 World Cup title in Qatar, has been sidelined several times by Inter Miami this season because of injury concerns.

His Argentina teammates left no doubt about their hopes for Messi to return.

“With Messi we might have scored two or three more goals,” said striker Julián Álvarez, who scored one goal against Brazil.

Bolivia’s failure to beat Uruguay on Tuesday assured Argentina — which leads the South American qualifiers with 31 points — of one of the continent’s six direct spots for the 48-team World Cup to be co-hosted next year by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

After Tuesday’s big win at Monumental de Nunez Stadium, midfielder Rodrigo de Paul seemed to speak for the whole country.

“The best of our teams is always when the No. 10 is playing,” De Paul said, “because he is the greatest of all time.”