Lionel Messi inspiring member of Scotland World Cup over 30s club to aim for 2030

Christie and his teammates watched Messi put on a one-man show for Argentina against Algeria on Tuesday, with the 38-year-old netting a hat-trick. This was further evidence that the World Cup had begun in earnest. It has already reached a crucial stage for Scotland in their bid to qualify for the second stage for the first time.

Christie is one of those battling to come into the starting XI for the clash against the African champions at the Boston Stadium, where Scotland beat Haiti 1-0 on Saturday night. A point would almost certainly see Scotland reach the knockout stage. At 31, Christie has been grouped among those players expected to be sampling the World Cup for the first and last time.

Watching players like Messi, as well as Ronaldo and Luka Modric, who are both now in their 40s, still excel at this level has motivated Christie to continue playing for as long as possible. He has just signed a new three-year deal with Bournemouth.

“I hope I’m playing at their age,” he said. “But yes, 100%. You look at these guys that are still doing it on the biggest stage.

“Even some of the names that I'm playing against week-in and week-out in the Premier League. They are pushing into their high 30s and still turning out performances week-in and week-out.

“It certainly gives us a hope that we can kick on and, fingers crossed we can make another World Cup. Football in general has come on in leaps and bounds on that side of things.

“Even though there is a younger generation constantly pushing the kind of athletic limits if you want, we've got everything in place to try and prolong our careers as long as we possibly can. You see how across football now, especially on the biggest kind of stage like this, the amount guys are doing to kind of prolong their careers off the pitch. Everything is in place for us to do well.”

Christie will earn his 70th cap if he features against Morocco. He can scarcely believe he is involved on this stage having felt so distant from the tournament while growing up in Inverness. “If I am honest, it (the World Cup) was non-existent,” he said. “I don’t know if it sounds bad to say that because I obviously had aspirations of playing for Scotland when I was growing up.

“It was my kind of pinnacle, but you didn't ever think further than that, probably because when I was growing up, I didn't get to watch Scotland play in a major tournament. That just wasn't really a possibility at that point. That’s probably why all those years down line, when we had that night in Serbia, it kind of hit home so much.”

Everyone remembers Christie breaking down in tears in Belgrade in 2020 after Scotland finally made it back to a major finals following a shootout victory over Serbia. He was asked how would be react to Scotland reaching the second stage of a major tournament for the first-ever time. This historic achievement could be confirmed as soon as the early hours of Saturday morning.

“Probably equally as emotional, but this time I will be staying well away from the cameras!” he said. “Listen, I get it (being asked about the tears so often). It would be an absolute dream come true.

“It’s a dream come true to even be playing in a World Cup and after that you have to kind of quickly adjust your targets and adjust your mindset so ensure that you're not just happy to be here.”