2024 soccer predictions: Messi's farewell, and more

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It's officially time to start looking ahead. With 2023 coming to an end, here are four things we expect to happen in world soccer in 2024.

It's coming home

England has been building toward something special in recent major tournaments. There were deep runs and narrow defeats at the last two World Cups, and the Three Lions came within inches of winning Euro 2020 before falling to Italy on penalties in a tense final. Now, at long last, it's time to put it all together and reach a crescendo that the nation's been waiting for from its men's team since it last lifted a major trophy in 1966. England will win Euro 2024 to end that drought.

Tipping England for success at major competitions has traditionally been met by sneers and smirks, but this is, quite simply, one of the best national teams in the world. The talent across the board is elite - Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, and Declan Rice headline a loaded squad - while the recent tournament experiences will only serve to harden a group of players whose careers are all converging at just the right time.

Bellingham captures Ballon d'Or

Major international tournaments always play an outsized role in Ballon d'Or voting. Whether that's right or wrong is another discussion entirely - should several performances over one month supersede everything else that happens in a calendar year? With that in mind, and piggybacking off the Euro 2024 prediction above, it's only logical that we take an Englishman here. Kane will make a very strong case, but there's something almost mythical about what Bellingham has done since joining Real Madrid.

Forwards are almost always recognized for these types of individual honors. Luckily for the 20-year-old sensation, he's scoring like one; the superstar midfielder has been more prolific than most of Europe's top strikers since moving to the Spanish capital from Borussia Dortmund. Often dramatic, the goals have been plentiful for Bellingham, who is doing things not even Cristiano Ronaldo accomplished in his first season with Real Madrid. Los Blancos are in the driver's seat in La Liga and, as ever, are one of the Champions League favorites. If Bellingham continues to shine, England might not even need to win Euro 2024 for him to become the first English player to capture the coveted trophy since Michael Owen in 2001.

Real Madrid finally land Mbappe

For the sake of everyone's sanity, this has to be the year that one of world soccer's most protracted soap operas comes to a merciful end. Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid have been flirting so intensely, and for so long, that their union is inevitable. Paris Saint-Germain have done everything possible to keep them apart in recent years, with French president Emmanuel Macron even lending a hand by personally imploring Mbappe to stay put when a transfer to Madrid appeared imminent in 2022. The various gambits worked at the time, prompting a change of heart and stunning contract extension. No such tactics will stop a transfer in 2024.

As of Jan. 1, Mbappe will be in the final six months of his mammoth PSG contract, making him free to discuss his future with other clubs (read: one club in particular). Real Madrid don't have to be sneaky. They can present their offer openly, having maintained consistent contact with the French phenom despite being burned in the past. An about-face and another contract extension with PSG remain possible. But the chaotic events of the 2023 summer window appeared to fracture the French team's relationship with their superstar forward beyond repair. The door's open for Florentino Perez and Real Madrid to finally get their man.

Messi retires from Argentina duty

The stage is set for Lionel Messi to ride off into the sunset. Nothing can ever top leading his country to victory at the 2022 World Cup, but Messi, who has already suggested that iconic triumph was his final involvement in the quadrennial tournament, can etch one last indelible moment into the history books when he captains Argentina at the 2024 Copa America. There's been some waffling of late on his future with the national team - understandable, given the magnitude of the decision from both a personal and professional perspective - but the magical forward will make his choice official in 2024, retiring from international duty after one more triumph.

For someone accustomed to providing storybook moments, winning a second consecutive Copa America, this time on "home" soil in Miami, where he plays his club soccer, seems all too fitting. In an emotional announcement with trophy in hand, Messi, who'll then be 37, will bring the curtain down on his decorated Argentina career.