Messi Age: Lionel Messi Set for Six World Cups Against Algeria
messi age is about to enter another World Cup record book. Lionel Messi will become the first man to play in six World Cups when Argentina opens its 2022 title defense against Algeria in Kansas City, Missouri. He turns 39 next week, and the milestone arrives with another target still on the board.
Messi and Argentina in Kansas City
Messi leads Argentina into the first round on Tuesday, June 16, with the champions opening against Algeria. The appearance moves him past every previous men’s World Cup participant and comes hours before Cristiano Ronaldo is also set to reach six tournaments.
Argentina is not easing into the defense. The team was stunned 2-1 by Saudi Arabia in its 2022 opener before winning the rest of its matches, a reminder that the title holder can still be dragged into trouble early if the first game slips away.
Messi's chase for 16
The bigger number is still in front of him. Messi needs four goals in this tournament to break Miroslav Klose’s career World Cup scoring record of 16, and he arrives with seven goals from Qatar in 2022 after scoring a brace in the final against France.
He also scored the first of Argentina’s four straight made penalty kicks in that final, a sequence that ended with Argentina winning its first World Cup since 1986. That run gave Messi another Golden Ball, making him the first player to win the award twice after also taking it in 2014.
Algeria meets a loaded Argentina
Algeria gets a champion that can still line up much like the side that beat France, with coach Lionel Scaloni able to field the exact same lineup from the final except for forward Angel di Maria. Lautaro Martinez is expected to play a bigger role, while Emiliano Martinez returns in goal after winning the Best FIFA Goalkeeper award twice.
The Algeria side brings its own edge. Mohamed Amoura led all players in Confederation of African Football qualifiers with 10 goals, and 20-year-old prospect Ibrahim Maza said, “We are going to beat Messi, Inshallah.”
Messi left Miami’s final match before the World Cup break with muscle fatigue in his left hamstring, then recovered and came off the bench to score in a friendly against Iceland. That is the practical line from here: Argentina opens against a team that reached the knockout stage in 2014, and Messi starts a tournament in which one more goal record and one more World Cup appearance are both within reach.
