Lionel Messi will turn 39 a fortnight after Argentina open their World Cup defence against Morocco in Guadalajara on 12 June, and the player who will walk out at the Estadio Akron is barely recognisable from the teenager who debuted against Hungary in 2005 and was sent off inside two minutes. The numbers from Inter Miami’s 2025 MLS season tell their own story: 29 goals, 19 assists, an average of 7.8 kilometres covered per match, and a top sprint speed of 28.4 km/h – down from 33.1 km/h at Barcelona in 2012. Yet Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni has built his entire tactical blueprint around accommodating, and amplifying, that diminished physical output. The reigning champions arrive in North America with Messi as their captain, their conductor, and – whether his manager admits it publicly or not – the player around whom everything still revolves.
The winger who became a walker
The Messi who terrorised Real Madrid in the late 2000s was, fundamentally, a winger. Pep Guardiola moved him into a false nine role in May 2009 – the night Barcelona destroyed Madrid 6-2 at the Bernabeu – and the position redefined modern football. But the underlying movement was still that of a player who covered ground in vertical bursts, beating full-backs and centre-backs with changes of pace that opta-tracked at over 30 km/h.
Guillem Balague, who has chronicled Messi’s career across three books, points to the 2018 World Cup in Russia as the inflection point. “He was 31, he was still trying to be the Messi of Barcelona’s treble years, and Argentina were a mess around him,” Balague says. “What changed after that tournament was an acceptance – by Messi, and eventually by the coaches who worked with him – that the version who could press, sprint and create was finished. The version who could see things three passes ahead was just beginning.”
The data backs the shift. At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Messi covered an average of 7.9 km per match – lower than every Argentina outfield player apart from goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez. Yet he registered seven goals, three assists, and won the Golden Ball. He walked for 83% of his minutes on the pitch, according to FIFA’s tracking data, conserving energy for the moments that mattered.
How Scaloni built a team around him
Scaloni’s masterstroke since taking over in August 2018 has been tactical, not motivational. Argentina now play with two central midfielders – Rodrigo De Paul and Alexis Mac Allister – whose job descriptions include covering the ground Messi no longer can. Nicolas Tagliafico and Nahuel Molina overlap aggressively from full-back. Julian Alvarez, restored to the starting XI after his switch to Atletico Madrid, is the pressing forward who allows Messi to drop into pockets between the lines.
The system was perfected during the 15-match unbeaten run that culminated in the Copa America triumph at the Maracana in July 2021 – Messi’s first senior international trophy – and the 36-game streak that followed before Saudi Arabia’s shock 2-1 win in Qatar’s opening fixture. Argentina have continued the model into 2026, qualifying for the World Cup with two matches to spare and winning the Finalissima rematch against Spain 3-1 in Madrid in March.
- Average distance covered per 90 minutes: 10.9 km (2012) → 7.9 km (2022) → 7.4 km (2025 internationals)
- Touches in the opposition box per 90: 7.2 (2012) → 5.1 (2022) → 4.3 (2025)
- Through balls per 90: 1.1 (2012) → 2.4 (2022) → 3.1 (2025)
- Pressing actions per 90: 18.6 (2012) → 4.2 (2022) → 2.1 (2025)
What a sixth World Cup means
Only three outfield players have appeared at six World Cups – Antonio Carbajal, Rafael Marquez and Cristiano Ronaldo – and none of them lifted the trophy at their final tournament. Messi did that in Qatar. Returning to defend it at 39, in a country where Inter Miami have made him the face of MLS, carries a different kind of weight than the redemption arc of 2022.
Balague believes the legacy question is already settled. “He doesn’t need this World Cup to be considered the greatest. He needs it to enjoy something his career has rarely allowed him – a goodbye on his own terms.” Scaloni has hinted Messi will not play every minute of every group game, with Thiago Almada and Giuliano Simeone earmarked for rotation. Argentina open against Morocco on 12 June, face Iran on 18 June, and finish the group against Norway on 24 June. Whether Messi is still walking onto pitches in mid-July, at the MetLife Stadium final on 19 July, will define how the evolution ends.
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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