Why Lionel Messi could miss the World Cup finals in Russia

Argentina International and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi could see his dreams of lifting a World Cup come to an end Peru beat them in the 17th round CONMEBOL World Cup qualifier.

Argentina is within touching distance of automatic qualification places, sitting pretty at 5th behind immediate opponents Peru.

It was Peru that was responsible for Argentina’s failure to qualify for the 1970 World Cup and Messi will be hoping that this doesn’t happen again.

Messi had already retired from the national side before reconsidering in a bid to try and lift an elusive World Cup.

In 2014, Argentina lost to a 113th minute Mario Gotze strike in the final against Germany, in a game that saw Messi’s side lose 1-0.

For now, Argentina still can qualify for the tournament if they finish fifth, but they would have to face New Zealand in a playoff.

The Argentina national team boasts of having superstars in their team, Sergio Aguero, Angel Di Maria, Javier Pastore and Paulo Dybala to mention a few. They will be looking to team up with Messi and create a formidable side capable of winning the World Cup, that’s if they qualify.

Messi admitted that he felt like Argentina was cursed after losing the 205 Copa America final to Chile. This might just be true as the side has never put hands on silverware since the year 1993.

Former Sevilla coach Jorge Sampaoli is keen to lift any cup with the side, as he cannot afford to boast of such a powerful squad and have no trophies to his name.

Will Messi make it to the World Cup in Russia? Better yet, could Messi lead Argentina to the World Cup final again?

Fixtures beckon…