Argentina's World Cup Preparations Are Falling Apart — And Messi Can't Afford It

The defending champions could reach the 2026 World Cup with almost no friendly matches under their belt. The Finalissima against Spain in Doha was supposed to be the cornerstone of Argentina's March schedule — but growing tensions in Qatar have cast serious doubt over the match taking place. To make matters worse, the planned friendly against Qatar as part of the Qatar Football Festival has already been canceled entirely, after the QFA suspended all competitions "until further notice."

But that's not all. The friendly matches against Mexico and Honduras, scheduled for early June in Las Vegas and Miami as final preparations, have also fallen through. As things stand, the Finalissima — whose logistics are themselves in question — could end up being Argentina's only warm-up match before their World Cup opener against Algeria on June 16.

For a team carrying the weight of being defending champions, with Messi leading the line one final time, arriving at a World Cup this unprepared would be a serious cause for concern.