Is Lionel Messi playing in the 2026 FIFA World Cup? That's the question on everyone's minds entering next summer's 48-team tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

Lionel Messi is the most decorated player in the history of the world's most popular sport. The Argentine superstar has transcended soccer, earning prime real estate on ESPN's list of the greatest athletes of the 21st century.

FORT LAUDERDALE – David Beckham has been one of the most formative players in Major League Soccer history and hit a new milestone on Saturday as his co-owned Inter Miami captured their first MLS Cup.

Messi and Inter Miami have completed their ascent, beating the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 on Saturday in the MLS Cup final for the franchise’s first championship. It came 2 1/2 years after the legend arrived in South Florida, a move that stunned plenty of onlookers at the time.

Dallas lands a heavyweight slate of World Cup matches, with AT&T Stadium hosting nine games as fans, businesses and regional leaders brace for an economic surge.

The meeting of these two icons—so often opponents on soccer’s grandest stages—framed an MLS Cup that instantly enters league folklore.

The 2026 Word Cup is approaching next summer and most of the biggest soccer stars will arrive in the United States, Canada and Mexico to represent their national teams at the best tournament in the world that takes place every four years.