The muscle strain threatened to derail Messi’s tournament, but his coach says he remains the best player in the world.
Published July 11, 2026
Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni said he was not surprised by Lionel Messi’s fitness at the age of 39 and reiterated his belief that the captain remains the best player in the world as long as he chooses to continue playing.
Messi was instrumental in Argentina’s World Cup campaign, scoring eight goals in five games and finishing second in the Golden Boot race to France’s Kylian Mbappé, who has played the most games.
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The diminutive forward also scored in a dramatic 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Egypt in the Round of 16, and is now the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer with 21 goals in his career.
In the match against North Africa, the Argentine talisman scored one goal and assisted Cristian Romero with 11 minutes remaining when his team led 2-0.
The Inter Miami forward arrived at his sixth World Cup with doubts over his fitness after recently recovering from a muscle strain.
“Leo runs pretty much the same way every game,” Scaloni told reporters Friday. “Physically, it’s true that he’s been doing some warm-up work with his fitness coach and it’s helped, but numbers-wise I don’t know if he’s changed that much.”
“What is clear is that he is giving everything he has. When he gives everything he has and feels he can create danger, he is a machine,” the coach added.
Messi’s performance in this tournament could have been even better had he not missed two penalties against Egypt and Austria, but Scaloni said he had no intention of depriving his inspirational captain of spot-kick duties.
“I wouldn’t even think about going and telling him not to (take the next penalty). Let’s just let him do what he wants,” Scaloni said. “We have a player who can accommodate them, but if he wants he will accept, if not it’s up to him. Let him do what he wants on the pitch.”
Scaloni said those who expect age to catch up with Messi don’t know enough about the player.
“It’s not a surprise to me,” he said.
“I don’t know how many times I’ve said it, maybe people who don’t know him expected that he wouldn’t reach this level at 39 years old. He’s going to continue to be the best as long as he wants to. I think so, and not because I’m his coach.”
Argentina will play Switzerland in the quarterfinals on Saturday in Kansas City. Scaloni praised his opponents, who beat Colombia on penalties after a goalless draw to advance to the last eight for the first time in 72 years.
“There are no easy competitors, we all know that,” Scaloni said.
“They are a very good team. They compete with the best national teams and always come through. Sometimes they win and sometimes they lose, but they always compete. They have a World Cup tradition, they have experienced players and they are physical.”
If Argentina defeats Switzerland, they will face either England or Norway in the semi-finals.
