‘Lionel Messi fully capable of winning it again’: Dembele issues huge warning to FIFA World Cup 2026 title contenders

Ousmane Dembele has backed former Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi to lead Argentina to a successful title defence at the ongoing 2026 FIFA World Cup. Messi, who is 38, will be featuring in his sixth World Cup. This will also probably be his last, and another title could make him the greatest-ever player in modern football.

Dembele, who is expected to be one of France’s star performers, is fresh from helping PSG to their second-straight UCL title.

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“Of course, he can win any trophy possible. I already saw what he could do during my time in Barcelona,” he said.

“That doesn’t change a thing. He is the best I’ve ever seen, the best that has ever been seen in football. He remains incredibly dangerous. It’s difficult to stop him even at 38. He might be that age, but he will always have those qualities. We will have to be careful with him because he is fully capable of winning it again,” he added.

France is also one of the favourites, having failed to defend their 2018 title in 2022, where they lost to Argentina in the final. “There are plenty of favourites. You know how it is – that label doesn’t mean anything in football anymore,” Dembele said.

“There are many teams who are favourites in this tournament. Plus, we know that the French national team has reached the last two finals, so we will be a team under immense scrutiny. But we remain focused on the objective. Before thinking about the round of 16 or the quarter-finals, we have to navigate the group stage matches properly,” he added.

After their game against Senegal, France will face Iraq on June 22, before taking on Norway four days later. On the other hand, Argentina open their campaign on June 17, taking on Group J opponents Algeria, before facing Austria and Jordan.