Argentina’s aim at Qatar 2022 is clear – give Lionel Messi the swansong he deserves by finally winning the World Cup. The 35-year-old will be playing at the tournament for the fifth time and has confirmed it will be his final rodeo on football’s biggest stage: "There’s some anxiety and nerves at the same time. It is the last one," he admitted in a recent interview.
Having come so close to glory in 2014, as Argentina lost to Germany in the final, only to then suffer the frustration of a last-16 defeat to France four years ago, Messi’s chances of lifting the Jules Rimet Trophy appeared to be over. But new coach Lionel Scaloni has overseen a remarkable rebuild of La Albiceleste during the last cycle – completely remaking the team after a number of well-known and experienced coaches turned down the job in the aftermath of Russia 2018.
