Only a few hours remain before the long-awaited World Cup draw reveals how teams will be grouped and what each nation’s journey might look like on football’s biggest stage. With the 2026 World Cup set to kick off next June in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, tonight’s draw in Washington has captured the attention of global fans and qualified nations alike.
The anticipation is equally strong inside the Argentina camp. Midfielder Rodrigo De Paul shared that even defending champions Argentina are eager to see how the groups unfold. Speaking to Argentine journalist Gastón Edul, De Paul revealed that he had a recent discussion with captain Lionel Messi about the upcoming draw.
“𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝑳𝒆𝒐 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕 — 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒍𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈,” 𝑫𝒆 𝑷𝒂𝒖𝒍 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑰𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒖𝒑 𝒔𝒐 𝒔𝒖𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒃 𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝑪𝒖𝒑 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒘 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍.”
He added that for many players, the draw symbolizes the true beginning of the World Cup.
“For many, it feels like the moment the World Cup starts.”
De Paul Confident as Argentina Aims to Defend Their Crown
Argentina, which famously lifted the trophy under Messi’s leadership in Qatar, is preparing to defend its title with renewed belief. De Paul admitted that the team’s strong qualifying campaign has boosted their confidence ahead of the tournament.
“𝑾𝒆’𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏, 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆. 𝑾𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒍𝒆,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒆’𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈.”
He stressed that unity—both within the team and among supporters—will again be crucial.
De Paul explained,
“𝑰𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒕𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒏 2022, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒆𝒓. 𝑾𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆.”
De Paul, who recently joined Messi at Inter Miami, also faces a major club challenge soon. The duo will play the MLS Cup final against the Vancouver Whitecaps, offering both players a chance at their first league title in the United States.
Messi’s World Cup Future Still Uncertain
Despite the excitement, uncertainty continues to surround Lionel Messi’s participation in the 2026 World Cup. In a recent interview with ESPN, the 38-year-old star did not confirm whether he would play, though he repeated his desire to be part of the event.
“𝑰 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆. 𝑰’𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆—𝑰 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆,” 𝑴𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅.
However, he also admitted that circumstances could change:
“𝑰𝒇 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏’𝒕 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚, 𝑰’𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒐 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓. 𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈.”
Whether Messi steps onto the field or watches from the stands, one thing remains certain—the heart of Argentina’s World Cup journey will continue to beat around Lionel Messi, both as a symbol and as the team’s spiritual leader.
Also Read: 2026 World Cup Draw Today: Time, Venue, and How to Watch Live
