Qatar 2022 | Know the favourites: Can Messi finally steer Argentina to glory?

Qatar 2022, know your favourites: Argentina

Could this be a fairytale final Fifa World Cup appearance for the talismanic Lionel Messi? It is almost 40 years since Argentina last won the World Cup, but La Albiceleste have another chance to rise to the pantheon of the game in what could be the perfect swansong for their creative mainstay Messi.

In his honours cabinet, Messi boasts Olympic and Copa America gold medals, but he suffered the ultimate heartbreak as Argentina lost 1-0 to Germany in the 2014 Fifa World Cup final at the Maracanã Stadium in ‎Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Messi will be 35 years old when the 2022 Qatar World Cup begins and Argentina's first match against Saudi Arabia on November 22 will be his 20th at the tournament where he has six goals to show for his troubles. A return of six goals is seen as underwhelming for a player who has dominated the game for the past decade and is generally regarded as the best player of the 21st century.

There is no doubt the Argentinian players are aware of the weight of expectation to end the 40-year drought by going all the way in a World Cup that will probably be the last for Messi and a number of senior players.

After a poor showing at the 2018 Fifa World Cup in Russia, Jorge Sampaoli was fired and replaced by ex-international Lionel Scaloni, who has mastered an excellent turnaround. Argentina took third place at the 2019 Copa America and ended a 28-year drought winning it last year.

La Albiceleste have been drawn in a relatively comfortable group, on paper. 

Saudi Arabia have only advanced past the group stage once, in 1994. However, it is not going to be easy against Mexico who have vast World Cup experience and will be led by Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Raul Jiminez. Poland will be led by Barcelona forward and one of the world's top five players Robert Lewandowski, but are making just their fourth World Cup appearance since 1990 and last went past the group stage in 1986.

Previous World Cup performance: champions 1978, 1986; runners-up 1930, 1990, 2014; quarterfinals 1966, 1998, 2006, 2010; last-16 1994, 2018; second group stage 1974, 1982; group stage 1958, 1962, 2002; first round 1934.

Key players: Lionel Messi (midfielder/attacker, Paris Saint-Germain, France); Emiliano Martinez (goalkeeper, Aston Villa, England); Cristian Romero (defender, Tottenham Hotspur, England); Rodrigo de Paul (midfielder, Atlético Madrid, Spain); Lautaro Martinez (forward, Inter Milan, Italy)

Coach: Lionel Scaloni

Current ranking: 3

Group C: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland

Predicted finish in 2022: semifinals

* The 2022 Fifa World Cup kicks off on November 20 and the final is on December 18. TimesLIVE and TimesLIVE Premium will profile all eight groups, the tournament favourites, star players and five African teams over the coming weeks.

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