Messi eyes 200 caps and Klose's record as Argentina open World Cup 2026 against Algeria

Lionel Messi will make history simply by taking the field when Argentina face Algeria in their World Cup 2026 opener at Kansas City Stadium on Wednesday, with the 38-year-old set to become the first player ever to appear at six World Cup tournaments — edging ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo and Guillermo Ochoa, who also reach that landmark this week.

The milestone does not stop there. A single appearance against Algeria would bring Messi to 200 caps for Argentina, a number that seemed improbable even to the man himself. Speaking after Argentina’s final friendly against Iceland, he admitted: “There had been doubts because of what I said at the previous World Cup, that I thought it would be difficult for me to play in another one because so many years had to pass.”

He has since put those doubts firmly aside. “I kept feeling good and taking things day by day,” Messi said. “I had the opportunity to play, get into rhythm, get minutes on the pitch and gradually feel better. It happened naturally. I’m happy, enjoying every moment and now I’m also as excited as ever.”

On the scoresheet, Messi arrives in the United States with 13 World Cup goals — three short of Germany’s Miroslav Klose, the outright all-time record holder. Should he find form in front of goal, the record could fall before the tournament reaches its latter stages.

Argentina enter as reigning world champions and are chasing something even more extraordinary: back-to-back titles, a feat no nation has managed since Pelé’s Brazil sides of 1958 and 1962.

Off the pitch, Messi’s wife Antonela Roccuzzo has drawn considerable attention of her own ahead of the tournament. The 38-year-old posted an image on Instagram in a leopard-print bikini that has since attracted more than 2.3 million likes, with fellow partners Sofia Balbi and Elena Galera among those responding. Roccuzzo is expected to be present at Kansas City Stadium for Argentina’s opener.