Argentina's World Cup winning coach Lionel Scaloni says he wants Lionel Messi to play on for the 2026 tournament.

Scaloni held out hope that Messi would be in the side for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico. The 44-year-old also paid tribute to Messi for having encouraged him to have faith, during a late night heart-to-heart phone call after the nation had struggled in a qualification game against Brazil, a year ago.

Scaloni said: "We need to save him for the next World Cup – 2026. If he wants to keep playing, he will be with us. He is more than entitled to decide what he wants to do with his career now."

Messi had told Scaloni in the phone call: "It will be ok. We will move on. We have to try at least."

Scaloni said of their talk: "With his answer I did realise we were doing things right. That gave me so much energy, it was an emotional boost."

Messi failed to show at a press conference as the game's man of the match. But the emotion was written across the No 10's face after Argentina's penalty shoot-out win, when his mother Celia Cuccittini approached him and they embraced on the pitch.

Scaloni said that it had decided within a year of taking over as manager, in 2018, that his strategy must be to find players who could work for and help Messi.

"We realised that we had great players and we could facilitate things for Messi. Help him out," the coach said. "It was about realising who would help Messi on the pitch and feel comfortable with him."