Messi has finished playing for the national team. The Argentine's five main matches

Soccer player Lionel Messi ended his career with the Argentine national team after losing to Spain in the World Cup final. The 39-year-old striker made this decision after his sixth World Cup. Messi has represented the country in international football for over 22 years and has won the World Cup, two America's Cups, the World Youth Championship and the Olympic Games for Argentina. What were the main matches of a football player in the national team — in the material of Izvestia.

2005 — victory in the final of the World Youth Championship

• The history of Messi's performances for the national team of Argentina began on June 29, 2004, on the day of his 17th birthday. On this date, the Argentine Football Association specially organized for him a friendly match against Paraguay among the national teams under 20 years of age. This game was necessary in order to firmly consolidate Messi's status as an Argentine player. At that time, the Spanish national team also applied for him, since the young striker had been living in Catalonia for several years and could, if desired, naturalize in a new country. Although Messi himself decided to represent his homeland, in order to settle all the formalities, it was required that he take the field against the Paraguayans. In that game, Messi immediately scored his first goal in an Argentina T-shirt.

• A year later, the rate of the Argentine functionaries yielded results. By the summer of 2005, even before he came of age, Messi had made his debut for Barcelona, scored his first goal for them, played in the Champions League for the first time and won the Spanish championship. After that, he went to the World Youth Championship and made a splash there. Messi scored in each of the four playoff matches, and in the final against Nigeria he scored a double, converting two penalties. Argentina won the tournament, and Messi became its best player and top scorer. Even then, he was compared to the great Diego Maradona, as he also began his football career with a triumph at the youth World Cup and the title of the best player.

2014 — disappointment in the World Cup final

• By 2014, Messi had already played in two World Cups, but both tournaments were unsuccessful for him. In 2006, he was not allowed on the field in the quarterfinals against Germany, when the Argentines lost on penalties. Four years later, he shifted to the position of playmaker, did not score a single goal in the entire World Cup, and Argentina again lost to the Germans in the quarterfinals. Messi was already going to the third World Cup in Brazil as a global superstar, the owner of four Golden Balls and a player who was expected to make a breakthrough in the style of Maradona.

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• Messi scored a goal in three group stage matches and was named the best player in each of them, as well as in the 1/8 finals game. But in the playoffs, he stopped scoring, only realizing a penalty shootout in the semifinal against the Netherlands. This helped Argentina reach the finals and get back to the German national team. In the decisive match, Messi's dry streak lasted, he did not realize a one-on-one exit with goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and missed the last free kick in the match when Germany was already leading with a score of 1:0. After the final whistle, Messi was awarded the title of the best player in the World Cup, but this decision caused criticism from fans who were already unhappy that he could not lead Argentina to victory.

2016 — a breakdown in the America's Cup final

• The failure at the World Cup led to the fact that the Argentine national team has not been able to win a single tournament for 21 years. The following year, Messi had a chance to stop this streak at the Copa America, the championship for South American teams. Although he scored only one goal in this tournament, he helped his teammates a lot and led the team to the finals. But there he was disappointed again. Argentina failed to beat Chile's less-than-stellar national team and lost in a penalty shootout, in which only Messi managed to hit the target.

• The following summer, another extraordinary America's Cup was held in honor of the centennial of this tournament. Messi suffered a lower back injury right before the competition and missed the first match, but returned to the team and immediately scored a hat-trick in the game against Paraguay. He continued to score in the playoffs, and a goal in the semifinals made him the top scorer in the history of the Argentine national team. But in the final, last year's disaster was repeated — Messi and his compatriots again failed to hit the gates of the Chilean national team and lost to it on penalties.

• Three defeats in the finals in three years affected Messi so much that he announced his retirement from the national team at the age of 29. The fans responded by launching a campaign asking them to stay in the national team, which even included President Mauricio Macri. As a result, Messi changed his mind before the end of the summer and rejoined the national team.

2021 — Relief in the America's Cup final

• The next two major tournaments proved to be even more disastrous for both Argentina and Messi personally. The South Americans barely made it to the 2018 World Cup in Russia and managed to win only one victory over Nigeria. Already in the first match of the playoffs, they lost to the future champions from France. The following year, Messi returned to the America's Cup and became the hero of scandalous reports. At first, he loudly criticized the refereeing after losing to Brazil in the semifinals, and in the match for third place he was removed due to a clash with Chilean Gary Medel. Having once again attacked the referees with indignation, Messi received a three-month suspension and a fine of $ 50 thousand.

• Relief came in 2021, again at the America's Cup. By that time, Argentine fans had been waiting for the team's new title for 28 years. In front of the stands empty due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Messi scored four goals and provided five assists, co-authoring nine of Argentina's 12 goals. He did not excel in the final, but his partners beat Brazil 1-0. Having already become a legend in club football, Messi won for the first time in the 34-year-old national team of Argentina.

2022 — triumph in the World Cup final

• After losing to Brazil at the Copa America 2019, Argentina has not lost 36 matches in a row. With this impressive streak, she moved on to another World Cup, already Messi's fifth. Already in the tenth minute of the first match against Saudi Arabia, he converted a penalty, but in the end, the Argentines lost to the team with one of the lowest ratings in the tournament. In the other two group stage matches, Messi helped to win. Along the way, he became the first football player in history to provide an assist at five different world cups.

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• In the 1/8 finals match against Australia, 35-year-old Messi scored a goal in the World Cup playoffs for the first time in his career. In the next two rounds, he converted three more penalties: two in regular time and one in the post-match series. This allowed Argentina and Messi himself to return to the World Cup finals eight years later. The decisive match against the French national team was a triumph for Messi. He scored a double and accurately started the penalty shootout, which ended with Argentina's victory.

• Although Messi considered retiring from the national team after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, he continued to play for it. Two years later, he celebrated another victory at the Copa America, and in 2026, he led Argentina to the World Cup finals. After losing to the Spanish national team, Messi, according to media reports, reiterated that he would no longer play for the national team.