Mia Hamm is one of the most influential figures in United States soccer history.
The 54-year-old infamously led the 1999 U.S. Women’s soccer team to gold at the World Cup, with Team USA winning the entire thing while hosting the women’s tournament for the first time. It was the most successful women’s World Cup in terms of attendance, television ratings and public interest.
Hamm became a mainstream name and one of the most influential sports figures, appearing in a well-known Gatorade commercial with NBA great Michael Jordan in 1999. Her accomplishments are endless, having not only won the World Cup, but also leading the United States to gold medals at the Olympics on two occasions (1996, 2004) while also winning U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year five years in a row.
The soccer icon played internationally until the age of 32, winning the gold medal in her final appearance in Athens in 2004.
Fast forward to the present day and another fellow soccer icon could soon be winding down his own career. Lionel Messi — who is 39 years old — is coming off of a sensational World Cup run that saw him lead Argentina to its second consecutive World Cup Final. Although they came up short in the title game against Spain, Messi had arguably the best World Cup run of his career, totaling eight goals and four assists, including one game in which he scored three goals.
The topic of whether or not Messi will play in the 2030 World Cup is an interesting one considering the start of the tournament will be played in South America, including Messi’s home country of Argentina.
When asked if she believes Messi will play in the 2030 World Cup for a chance to play the tournament in front of his home country, Hamm said if she had to make a prediction, she doesn’t believe he will. However, she leaves the possibility open considering it’s Messi.
“I say no, but then again, he surprises me every single day when I watch him play, and I don’t count him out of anything,” said Hamm in a one-on-one interview with Heavy Sports. “He’s done so much for this game. It’s one of the things I tell people about one of the reasons I love soccer so much is you go watch the NBA or NFL, and you stand beside a quarterback, and they’re like six-foot-four, and 230 pounds. You’re like, ‘Okay, I get it.’ And then you go and you see Lionel Messi, and if you didn’t know who he was and walked into a room, and you see this guy that’s 5-foot-6, 5-foot-7, and you say that’s the best player in the world.
“People would say there’s absolutely no way,” Hamm continued. “And he’s just brought so much joy and excitement to so many of our lives, being able to watch him play. So I wouldn’t be surprised (if he plays in) 2030, but I mean, he’s done enough. If he said I’m retiring tomorrow, it’s well deserved.”
Opportunity to Play World Cup in Home Country May be Too Enticing for Lionel Messi
Messi is obviously still going strong in the MLS for Inter Miami as they’re the defending MLS Cup champs. They currently have the second-best record in the MLS midway through the season. Messi ranks fourth in the league in goals and assists and leads the MLS in shots.
However, four full years is a long way out. With that being said, the opportunity to play the World Cup in your home country — something that Hamm not only did, but won the gold medal — is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It may be too hard for Messi to pass up.
Mia Hamm on Dove’s Body Confident Sport Program for Young Women
While the 2026 Men’s World Cup is over, we’re now getting ready to prepare for the 2027 Women’s World Cup which will take place in Brazil. The U.S. women’s soccer team is considered one of the favorites and the 2027 squad will have no shortage of expectations of winning it all. Team USA has four World Cup titles in its history, the most of any country.
Leading into the next World Cup, Hamm is partnering with Dove for a key initiative to increase body confidence for women in sports. According to Dove, 45% of girls leave sports due to low body confidence. Nearly half of girls who quit sports say they were told they have the “wrong body type.”
“I partnered with Dove, and obviously their body confident sport program, and talking about self esteem and how important it is for young girls to continue to participate because you you see a lot of girls dropping off because of lack of body confidence,” Hamm detailed. “I just think about what’s great about sport and especially soccer is you can be all different heights, shapes, sizes and still make an impact and still be a positive force for your team and all the lessons that you learn through sport is so important. Whether it be time management, communication, teamwork, self confidence that we’re really focused on, and helping young girls find their voice and know that they have a place here.”
Hamm said this message resonates having two daughters herself and being a prominent athlete for many years.
“It’s something that I think having two daughters, but also when I was an athlete, I think you see now there’s this more acceptance of women with strength as not being ashamed of it, but using your own power I think is really important,” said Hamm. “You want to be strong, but you don’t want to be too strong. You want to be fast, but you don’t want to be too fast. You want to stick out, but you don’t want to take up the entire room.
“What I love about this message and partnering with Dove is celebrating who you are and and what your gifts are and what your strengths are,” Hamm continued. “I think in embracing that and letting young girls and women understand that their value and their confidence can start with them, but be mindful of how we think and treat each other in the process.”
Hamm admits that the social media aspect of today’s culture can make things difficult, but it’s a matter of figuring out what puts your in the “healthiest” and “most positive” mindset.
“I think you you definitely have a lot more voices coming across your timeline, but I think you also have to figure out what in the end puts you in the healthiest and the most positive mindset,” said Hamm. “I think everyone’s going to have critics. Even though I didn’t play in an era with social media, I know for 80% of the people I was not their favorite player for whatever reason. And that’s okay. I think if I spent my time trying to convince people that I’m good or I’m I’m funny or I’m nice, I would have been half the player that I was.
“In the end, I want to be the best I can be, and surround myself with people that help me achieve those goals, and that doesn’t mean that they’re going to tell me everything I want to hear,” Hamm continued. “I have a lot of really dear friends, and a lot of them are my teammates from both in college and on the national team. There were times they’d walk straight up to me and say that was inappropriate or there’s a better way to handle that, and be better. and And I think having that type of constructive criticism and friendship, the honesty helped me improve both on the field and off the field.”
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