The 2022 FIFA World Cup marks the last chance for Lionel Messi can win the trophy that has long eluded his career. The 35-year-old was close to winning the competition in 2014 but fell short in the final.
As a result, the Paris Saint-Germain star understands what a team that wants to reach the final game and win the competition is supposed to look like as the squad heads to Qatar.
In an interview with ESPN Argentina, Messi explained why the current team in 2022 remains him of the squad that lost to Germany in the 2014 World Cup final.
“Well, [the 2022 squad] reminds me a lot of the group we talked about before the 2014 World Cup,” Messi told the Argentine outlet. “We were in the same way, including the two Copa América’s. What happened is that we were not lucky enough to win.
“We reached the final and we couldn’t consecrate ourselves, and winning decompresses a lot and makes me work in a different way and makes people see you differently, too.”
For Messi’s sake, the veteran forward hopes this current squad has better luck in Qatar than the 2014 side. Nonetheless, his teammates face pressure as they’re responsible for attempting to give the Argentine his storybook ending.
Argentina has a group with Mexico, Poland, and Saudia Arabia, so they’re considered the favorite to advance to the knockout stages. What they do from there will be up to the team.