Argentina will not put pressure on Lionel Messi to play at the 2028 Copa América but will continue to let their superstar decide when he wants to compete with the national team, according to the country’s football supremo Claudio Tapia.
Messi, 39, has not discussed his future with the national team after his remarkable 2026 World Cup, where he had eight goals and four assists to help Argentina reach the final.
“It is entirely his own personal decision,” said Argentina Football Association president Tapia to TyC Sports when asked if Messi will play at the 2028 Copa América.
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“I enjoyed watching him on the pitch; he was the standard-bearer for this World Cup, just as he has been in every competition he’s played in. He has to feel like it. Back in 2022, we didn’t know if he’d be playing in 2026. He said he was taking it ‘one match at a time’ and we saw him at his very best, if not the very best.”
Messi was named the most valuable player at the 2022 World Cup after leading his country to glory. A 2021 and 2024 Copa América winner, Messi has made a record 207 appearances for Argentina and is his country’s all-time leading scorer with 125 goals in 21 years playing for La Albiceleste.
“We should be proud of him,” Tapia said of the Inter Miami captain. “May he continue to enjoy playing football, and may we enjoy watching him, and may he make the decision he feels is right.”
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Tapia, meanwhile, is hoping to convince coach Lionel Scaloni to remain at the helm of Argentina. Scaloni, whose contract expires at the end of this year, said after the team’s 1-0 loss to Spain in extra time in the World Cup final that he would evaluate his future.
“My plan A, my plan B and my plan C is Scaloni,” Tapia said. “I want him to carry on; we all want him to carry on. I have to respect his decision; let him think it over and make whatever decision he believes is the right one. I can’t keep him tied down if he feels he doesn’t have the necessary drive or doesn’t see a path to further success.”
Scaloni, 48, is the most successful coach in the history of the national team. Appointed in 2018 as interim manager, he won three major international tournaments in a row (2021 Copa América, 2022 World Cup, and 2024 Copa América).
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Tapia heaped praise on the national team and applauded how it again united the nation at the World Cup.
“This is the best national team of all time,” he said. “The national team has brought joy to the entire Argentine people. It managed to get people to identify with a group.”
