Lionel Messi will embark on Tuesday on what will surely be his last chance to win the World Cup, with Argentina and holders France both in action in Qatar.
After England thumped Iran 6-2 to showcase their title credentials, day three of one of the most controversial World Cups in history will have four matches.
Messi and his strongly fancied Argentina side are up first when they face Saudi Arabia in Group C, followed by Denmark versus Tunisia in Group D.
The evening matches are Robert Lewandowski’s Poland against Mexico in Group C and the last game of the day tees up reigning champions France, spearheaded by Kylian Mbappe, versus Australia in Group D.
Much of the attention though will be on forward Messi.
The 35-year-old has won pretty much it all and is one of the greatest footballers of all time, but World Cup glory has eluded him and this is surely his last time to rectify that glaring omission.
“It is probably my last World Cup, my last chance to land this great dream that we all have,” Messi told reporters in Doha on Monday.
“I don’t know if this is my happiest moment, but I feel great.
“I’m older, more mature, I want to make the most of everything, to live it with the maximum intensity and to enjoy every moment that I have.”
In recent days, Messi has twice trained apart from the rest of the squad but he moved to dispell any concerns amongst Argentines that he might not be fit for Saudi Arabia.
“I trained apart because I had a knock, it was precautionary, but nothing unusual,” he said.
Argentina head into the tournament as Copa America holders and unbeaten in 36 matches dating back to 2019.
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