"Leave him alone" - Lionel Scaloni tells journalists to let Messi be

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni urges patience on Messi's 2026 World Cup decision after their 4-1 win over Brazil, insists he should be left to decide

Lionel Scaloni has asked people to stop pressuring Lionel Messi about the 2026 World Cup. (Photo credit: GOAL)

Argentina head coach, Lionel Scaloni has warned against the unnecessary pressure on star man Lionel Messi on whether he will feature or not at the 2026 World Cup.

The reigning champions booked their ticket in next year's event, which will take place in the USA, Canada, and Mexico, after thrashing arch-rivals Brazil 4-1 in Buenos Aires, handing the Brazilians their worst-ever defeat in a World Cup qualifying campaign.

Talks of Messi's fitness and interest in the 2026 World Cup overshadowed the post-match press conference, and the 2022 winning manager insisted the superstar be left alone to make his decisions.

"We will see what happens; there's plenty of time," Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. "We must go one game at a time; otherwise, [we] will be speaking about the same thing the rest of the year, and we need to leave him alone. We will see. He will decide it whenever he wants; let's not drive him crazy with this."

Lionel Messi missed Argentina's last two games, the 1-0 win over Uruguay and the 4-1 thrashing of Brazil in the early hours of Wednesday, prompting fans to wonder if the team is preparing for life without him; however, Messi has declined to speak on the subject.

Instead, Messi is relishing the opportunity of his country winning back-to-back World Cups, and it doesn't matter whether he features in the tournament or not. Scaloni has alluded to Messi's stand, telling journalists to leave the 37-year-old alone.

"The goal is to start preparing for the World Cup, and we want to try and do what we did the last time again. We will try our best to make the fans happy; we have been the best national team in the last six years, and we deserve where we are."

Messi's teammates don't want to imagine playing without him. Julian Alvarez, the Atletico Madrid man who scored one of the goals against Brazil, insists they would have scored more goals with Messi in the team, while Rodrigo De Paul said he can't wait for their number 10 to return as they play a lot better with him in the team.