Lionel Messi: Qatar World Cup 'surely' my last

Lionel Messi has confirmed the 2022 FIFA World Cup will "surely" be his last.

The Argentina captain has played at four World Cups, scoring six goals and making five assists in 19 appearances. His best shot at the coveted trophy was in the 2014 edition when Argentina made it to the final. However, the Albicelestes lost 1-0 to Germany.

Last year, Messi won his first senior trophy with Argentina when he captained the side to the Copa America title.

"It's my last World Cup, surely. I'm counting down the days to the World Cup. There is anxiety and nerves at the same time. Wanting it to be now, what is going to happen, and ultimately, how is it going to go?" Messi said in an interview with ESPN.

Messi, who made his international debut in 2005, has netted 90 goals in 164 appearances for Argentina in all competitions.

The 2022 World Cup is going to be Messi's fifth appearance in the FIFA event, which would see the former Barcelona forward surpass Diego Maradona and Javier Mascherano in the record for most World Cup appearances by an Argentinian player.

The upcoming event is scheduled to begin next month and is going to be played in Qatar. Argentina are currently ranked No. 3 in the FIFA World Rankings and will face Saudi Arabia, Mexico, and Poland in Group C at the World Cup, which starts on Nov. 20.

"In a World Cup, anything can happen. All the matches are very tough. The favourites don't always end up winning. I don't know if we're the favourites, but Argentina is always a candidate because of its history. Now even more so because of the moment, we're in, but we are not the favourites. I think there are other teams that are above us," added Messi in the same interview.

Argentina, who begin their World Cup 2022 campaign on Nov. 22 by taking on Saudi Arabia, have won the title twice in the past: 1978 and 1986.

One of the positives for Argentina going into the marquee event is Messi's current form. The 35-year-old forward has netted eight goals and eight assists in 13 competitive appearances for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the ongoing season.

"I feel good, physically. I had a good preseason this year, which I wasn't able to do the year before [when he moved from Barca to PSG]. It was key to starting off better, as I did, with a lot of mental focus and eagerness," Messi said further.

Over the years, Messi has been critcised for his record with Argentina that contradicts his success at the club level. Before winning Copa America in 2021, Argentina came close to ending their long trophy drought on three occasions but were beaten by Germany in the 2014 World Cup final and by Chile in the 2015 and 2016 Copa America finals.

"I have been playing with the national team for a long time now. There have been spectacular moments, like in 2014, 2015, and 2016, but we didn't win and were criticised for not being champions. We did everything right until the finals," said Messi, who is in his second year at PSG.

Lionel Messi: My love for Argentinean people is 'unconditional'

Messi went on to add that he was heading to Qatar with a positive approach as the elder statesman in a team full of young talent.

"It's been very hard, but a new group with many young people came and won the Copa America. That helped us a lot. I couldn't believe it, can't explain it. It's one of the goals I needed to wrap everything up. It was very important for me to win something with the national team, if not that monkey was always going to be on my back, all those lost finals.

"I would've liked to have enjoyed it with the people of Argentina. It's crazy how they experienced it, the aftermath. They're crazy over the team, excited. That's why it's good to turn it down, we're going to fight against anybody, but we don't think we're the champions. We think we're just going to walk over anybody, but it's not like that. The first game is key," added Messi.

The PSG forward went on to add that his love for Argentinean people was unconditional and he was very grateful "to have experienced and enjoyed everything I have. It was very special."

Argentina are set to face the United Arab Emirates in their final warm-up in November before beginning group play in Qatar.