Saudi Arabia coach Herve Renard who beat Argentina in 2022 World Cup rates chances of Lionel Messi and teammates winning trophy again

Saudi Arabia coach Hervé Renard has backed Lionel Messi-led Argentina to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup. He recalled backing them for the 2022 edition, when the South American side went on to beat France in the final.

Speaking to D Sports, Renard said he felt Argentina would win the 2022 World Cup despite their slow start, and he has a similar feeling going into the 2026 edition. He added that Lionel Scaloni's side should be considered as one of the favorites and said (via AlbicelesteTalk):

"Argentina has a great chance of winning the World Cup again. I'm not going to repeat that phrase I said in 2022 because there's still a long way to go before it starts, but yes, that was how I felt at the time. Sometimes, when you don't start well in a tournament, it wakes you up. And that's exactly what happened to them, and they did very well. Congratulations to them."

Lionel Messi-led Argentina will face Algeria, Austria, and Jordan in the group stages after the draw took place on Friday, December 5. Their first game is scheduled for June 16 against Algeria, followed by Austria on June 22 and Jordan on June 27.

Lionel Messi confident about winning the 2026 FIFA World Cup

Lionel Messi spoke to ESPN earlier this week and backed Argentina to win the FIFA World Cup. He believes that they have a squad capable to going all the way in the 2026 edition and said (via AlbicelesteTalk):

"Can what happened in Qatar be repeated? Yes, I believe it's a group that will try again, and will give everything and fight. The World Cup is very difficult, any team can make things tough for you and eliminate you. The ball might hit the post and go out, or hit the post and go in, and just like that, your journey ends or you lose on penalties."

"In the last World Cup, luck was on our side, even though we were greatly superior in our matches against the Netherlands and France, we ended up going to penalties, and then we had the beast as a goalkeeper who made us win. But it can happen that you reach penalties and don't win, it's very hard to win the World Cup."

Lionel Messi has hinted that he wants to play at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but has yet to confirm his availability. He will create history alongside Cristiano Ronaldo by becoming the first player to feature in six editions of the tournament.