KANSAS CITY, United States (AFP) — Lionel Messi could have signed off from World Cup football on the ultimate high in 2022 but he is back and poised to become the first man to play in six tournaments.

The veteran Argentine forward, on the cusp of winning his 200th cap, confirmed four years ago that the Qatar World Cup would be the last of his storied career.

He worked his unique magic in the Gulf state, propelling his side to glory with seven goals, including two in a captivating final against France.

“Obviously, I wanted to finish my career with this. I can’t ask for any more,” Messi said after that triumph which appeared to be his crowning achievement.

But the diminutive forward, who will turn 39 later this month, did admit he would like to play on a little longer as a world champion.

In the end he kept going, unable to resist the lure of football’s biggest stage, and was named in Lionel Scaloni’s 26-man squad last month.

Messi remains Argentina’s talisman as the three-time champions seek to become the first nation to retain the World Cup since Brazil in 1962.

“I’ve been enjoying it from the beginning,” he said after last week’s 3-0 friendly win against Iceland in Alabama. “I’m happy, enjoying every moment and excited, as always.”

The former Barcelona star had been cagey about whether he would play on to the 2026 tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

“There were doubts because of what I said at the previous World Cup, that I thought it would be difficult for me to play it again because of the number of years that had to pass,” he said.

“But I started feeling good and I was taking things day by day, just like I’d been saying. I had the chance to play, to find my rhythm, to get minutes, to keep feeling good, and it all happened naturally.”

Messi is clearly not the player he once was, having left Europe for the United States in 2023 following an underwhelming two-season spell at Paris Saint-Germain.

Playing in Major League Soccer (MLS), for Inter Miami, means he is no longer operating at the very highest level on a weekly basis.

But he has been in fine form, scoring 13 goals in 16 games in 2026 after helping his team win the MLS Cup last year.

There were concerns over the Argentinian’s fitness after he was substituted in Miami’s 6-4 win over Philadelphia last month with a hamstring issue.

But he allayed those fears in a 20-minute cameo for Argentina against Iceland, scoring from the penalty spot shortly after coming on.

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner has already won more silverware with Argentina since the last World Cup, captaining the team to victory in the Copa America in the United States in 2024.

He was the top scorer in South American World Cup qualifying, too. “I love playing football, and I’m going to do it until I can’t anymore,” he said recently.

Messi first played a World Cup game as a teenager in 2006 in Germany, before later skippering Argentina to the final in Brazil in 2014, when they lost in extra time to the Germans.

Argentina’s all-time top scorer will become just the third man to reach 200 caps after Cristiano Ronaldo and Kuwait’s Bader Al-Mutawa if, as expected, he plays against Algeria in Kansas City on Tuesday.

Ronaldo, Messi’s greatest personal rival during his career, is also set to feature in his sixth World Cup.

“We’re all fully aware that this could well be Leo’s last World Cup, given his age, but it’s his decision at the end of the day,” teammate Julian Alvarez told FIFA.com.

“It’ll certainly make for a special World Cup — and I don’t just mean for us his teammates and the Argentine people, but for everyone who watches and follows him, given that he’s the best player of all time.

“He’s made a colossal impact the world over.”