Lionel Messi brought his extraordinary international career to a close against Benin last week, contributing two assists and scoring one final goal from the penalty spot in front of an adoring Argentine public.
At 39, Messi departed having accomplished virtually everything imaginable for his country, completing one of the most remarkable journeys in international football history.
It was nice to see Messi confidently dispatch his final penalty toward the top corner, considering the extraordinary role penalties had played throughout his international career. Few moments in football carry quite the same individual pressure, and Messi had experienced both the heartbreak and exhilaration they can produce. His final effort recalled the conviction with which he converted against Colombia in the 2021 Copa América semifinal, a match that would prove instrumental in Argentina’s eventual breakthrough.
Yet what struck me most about Messi’s farewell was the extraordinary affection surrounding him. It would be difficult to imagine, watching the Argentine public celebrate their captain, that just a decade earlier Messi had actually announced his retirement from international football in tears, following consecutive Copa América final defeats against Chile, both decided by penalty shootouts. Those disappointments followed Argentina’s heartbreaking defeat to Germany in the 2014 World Cup final, where Messi missed a difficult but promising opportunity against Manuel Neuer, while Gonzalo Higuaín squandered an even clearer chance. The burden of Argentina’s famous No. 10 shirt, and the inevitable comparisons with Diego Maradona, had become almost unbearable.
For those of us who had followed Messi from the beginning, the accumulation of disappointments was painful to watch. I desperately wanted him to succeed, as did millions of football supporters around the world. There was something particularly unfortunate about seeing a player who had accomplished so much for Barcelona continually judged by what he had failed to achieve for Argentina.
My own memories of Argentina stretch back considerably further than Messi. As a little boy, I attended Argentina’s 2–1 victory over Nigeria at the 1994 World Cup, a match remembered for Claudio Caniggia’s brace and, more infamously, as Maradona’s final international appearance following his subsequent positive drug test. Although I had the distinction of witnessing Maradona’s final match, it was Gabriel Batistuta, affectionately known as Batigol, who became one of my childhood idols.
Argentina would feature prominently in several of my subsequent World Cup memories. In 1998, they eliminated what remains my favorite England team of my lifetime, winning on penalties following an extraordinary 2–2 draw. Michael Owen’s magnificent individual goal understandably dominates recollections of that match, although Alan Shearer’s thunderous penalty into the top corner remains equally memorable to me. Shearer would produce another emphatic penalty in the subsequent shootout. Argentina were themselves eliminated in the quarterfinals by the Netherlands, courtesy of Dennis Bergkamp’s magnificent late winner. I had considerable affection for that Dutch team, as I have for several Netherlands sides over the years. My World Cup allegiances have frequently shifted according to the players involved, the style of football being played and the circumstances surrounding a tournament.
My attachment to Messi began at the 2006 World Cup, when he came off the bench against Serbia and Montenegro and scored a wonderful goal. Like so many others, I was immediately drawn to this extraordinarily gifted young footballer. There was something almost childlike about Messi in those early years, a young virtuoso whose remarkable abilities were accompanied by a relatively quiet and unassuming personality. For many of us, there was almost the feeling of watching a younger brother attempting to fulfill an extraordinary destiny.
By 2010, Messi was already producing extraordinary performances for Barcelona, but his international career had become a source of mounting frustration. His failure to score at that year’s World Cup is frequently cited as evidence of an unsuccessful tournament, something I have always considered a serious misrepresentation of his performances, particularly during the opening round. With Maradona managing Argentina, Messi was frequently required to create the attacking opportunities from which others benefited. Rather than receiving service in dangerous positions, he was often responsible for supplying it. He did practically everything but score, including striking the woodwork and creating opportunities that teammates converted. Maradona’s exclusion of Esteban Cambiasso from the squad was one of several selection decisions I found difficult to understand.
I occasionally wondered whether there was an element of personal conflict in the relationship between the two Argentine icons. Maradona was unquestionably a football genius, but also a deeply flawed individual, and the possibility that Messi might eventually surpass his legacy introduced an uncomfortable dimension. I cannot establish that Maradona consciously wanted to prevent Messi from eclipsing him, but some of his behavior and comments certainly left me wondering whether that possibility existed. Argentina’s humiliating 4–0 defeat against Germany brought the tournament to an ugly conclusion.
Four years later, Messi came agonizingly close to winning the World Cup. He scored four goals during the group stage in Brazil and subsequently supplied the decisive pass for Ángel Di María’s extra-time winner against Switzerland. Yet Di María’s injury during the quarterfinal against Belgium fundamentally changed Argentina’s attacking possibilities. Without him, the team increasingly relied upon defensive discipline and narrow margins rather than attacking invention. They eliminated Arjen Robben’s Netherlands on penalties before losing the final to Germany, where Messi dragged a promising opportunity narrowly wide of the far post and Higuaín squandered an excellent chance.
The Golden Ball awarded to Messi at the conclusion of that tournament remains controversial. Although he had been outstanding during the opening round, he failed to score in the knockout stages, and his attacking influence diminished considerably following Di María’s injury. Robben, in my view, had produced the superior individual tournament. Messi himself appeared uncomfortable collecting the award, and I have sometimes wondered whether the decision reflected, at least in part, the football world’s desire to recognize a player whose extraordinary talent had once again been denied the ultimate prize.
That sentiment would recur in subsequent years. His 2021 Ballon d’Or, awarded following Argentina’s Copa América triumph, was another decision that generated considerable debate. Messi had produced important goals and assists during that tournament, but his early performances following his move to Paris Saint-Germain were disappointing. There was a sense that his international breakthrough had helped carry him toward another individual honor. None of this diminishes Messi’s greatness, but it illustrates how deeply invested much of the football world had become in his pursuit of international success.
The disappointments continued in 2018, a tournament that proved particularly painful. Argentina’s goalkeeping problems had become impossible to ignore. Willy Caballero’s dreadful clearance against Croatia gifted Ante Rebić the opening goal in what became a humiliating 3–0 defeat, severely complicating Argentina’s path through the tournament. Messi had already missed a penalty against Iceland in the opening match, and the atmosphere surrounding the team had become increasingly desperate.
Yet there were still moments of brilliance. Messi scored a lovely goal against Nigeria in a must-win final group match, controlling a long pass with extraordinary precision before finishing with his right foot. Argentina advanced, only to encounter France in the Round of 16, where Di María produced a magnificent long-range equalizer in an extraordinary match that Argentina ultimately lost 4–3. It was also the afternoon that announced Kylian Mbappé to the wider football world. Still only 19, Mbappé’s explosive pace tore through Argentina’s defense, winning an early penalty before scoring twice in quick succession during the second half to turn the match decisively in France’s favor. It was the beginning of a rivalry that would assume far greater significance in the years ahead.
There were signs of a transformation under Lionel Scaloni, who inherited an Argentine team still recovering from the chaos of the 2018 World Cup under Jorge Sampaoli. I liked Scaloni almost immediately. His gentlemanly demeanor and calm, steady stewardship were exactly what Argentina needed after years of turmoil, and the Argentine Football Association deserves considerable credit for sticking with him. His first Copa América campaign in 2019 began poorly and ended with a semifinal defeat against Brazil, in which Messi struck the post, but there were signs of something developing.
The real turning point, however, came in the 2021 Copa América semifinal against Colombia. Messi set the tone in the penalty shootout with a ferocious blast into the top-right corner, but the star who emerged was Emiliano “Dibu” Martínez. Argentina had suffered from goalkeeping problems in recent tournaments, most notoriously Willy Caballero’s disastrous clearance against Croatia in 2018. Martínez brought something different, starting at the back: an extraordinary confidence and brashness that would occasionally get him into trouble, but which proved invaluable when Argentina needed it most.
Colombia had eliminated Uruguay in the preceding round, with Yerry Mina and others celebrating their successful penalties by dancing little jigs. Now it was Mina facing Martínez, who memorably talked him down, telling him he knew where he was going to put the ball and repeatedly declaring, “I will eat you.” It was a remarkable sight, made all the more extraordinary by the absence of spectators during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing television viewers to hear the exchanges clearly. Martínez saved three penalties, including Mina’s, prompting Messi to shout, “Dance now, Yerry!”
That was the moment Argentina’s fortunes seemed to change. For years, they had approached decisive matches with an almost inevitable sense of disappointment. Martínez’s performance gave the team something it had been missing, and his penalty-saving heroics would feature prominently in Argentina’s subsequent triumphs, particularly against the Netherlands and France at the 2022 World Cup. He would also rescue Argentina in the 2024 Copa América quarterfinal against Ecuador after Messi struck the crossbar attempting a Panenka. For a player who would later leave two goals on the table through missed penalties during his eight-goal 2026 World Cup, Messi had certainly experienced his share of disappointment from the spot. Yet in the moments that mattered most, Argentina had finally begun coming out on the winning side.
The 2021 Copa América final belonged to Di María, whose beautifully executed chip secured Argentina’s first major senior international title in 28 years. Before that breakthrough, Messi’s lone major international accomplishment had been his Olympic gold medal in 2008, also secured by a Di María chip, this time against Nigeria. The victory over Brazil was especially meaningful considering how many opportunities Messi and Argentina had squandered in preceding tournaments. Messi missed an excellent late chance, but this time Argentina survived.
By the time the 2022 World Cup began, I desperately wanted Argentina to win. I was living in Miami at the time, and watching Argentina’s matches at Bottled Blonde was a tremendous experience. It was an extraordinary atmosphere, and I still find it difficult to believe that the establishment subsequently closed. The final itself was one of the most remarkable sporting experiences of my lifetime. I joined the proceedings toward the end of normal time and watched the remainder, including extra time and penalties, live.
There are rare moments in sport when events unfold with such extraordinary drama and apparent perfection that they seem to transcend the competition itself. Having grown up in New England, I have experienced other remarkable sporting moments, but Argentina’s victory over France belonged in a category of its own. The world, by and large, seemed to be celebrating not simply Argentina’s achievement but Messi’s personal redemption.
At 35 years old, he had finally won the one trophy that had eluded him. More remarkably, he had done so as the central protagonist of Argentina’s triumph. His seven goals included four penalties, a distinction worth making when evaluating the statistical record. Nevertheless, his performances throughout the tournament were exceptional, beginning with what I consider the most important goal of his career to that point.
Argentina’s astonishing opening defeat against Saudi Arabia had placed enormous pressure upon the team. Mexico had effectively become a must-win match, and the tension surrounding the occasion was palpable. Messi’s goal broke that tension, and in subsequent interviews several Argentine players acknowledged how the opening defeat had sharpened their focus. He subsequently scored against Australia, ending his long-standing failure to score in a World Cup knockout match, and continued to deliver decisive contributions throughout the tournament. His assists against the Netherlands and Croatia were among the competition’s memorable moments, and in the final he scored what appeared to be the winning goal in extra time before France somehow equalized again.
Scaloni also showed great wisdom in restoring Ángel Di María to the starting lineup for the final against France. At 34, El Fideo had slipped out of the starting lineup amid fitness concerns, but was given the opportunity to do what we all imagined he might have done in the 2014 final against Germany had injury not ruled him out. Di María had a remarkable history of audacious chipped finishes in finals, having scored the winner against Nigeria in the 2008 Olympics and repeated the feat against Brazil in the 2021 Copa América. He continued that extraordinary record against France, if one grants his cheeky bounce chip over Hugo Lloris the same distinction. He also drew the penalty that Messi confidently converted to open the scoring, before departing with Argentina apparently comfortably in control at 2–0. Until that point, France had barely had a sniff of the game. El Fideo’s contributions to Argentina’s success deserve enormous recognition, and he will rightly be remembered as one of the country’s iconic players.
Then there was Paulo Dybala, affectionately known as La Joya, or “The Jewel.” Perhaps the only unfortunate consequence of Messi’s extraordinary longevity has been the limited international opportunities afforded to Dybala, a generational talent whose preferred position overlaps with Messi’s. That has always been the explanation for his limited involvement, although I saw little evidence that the two couldn’t play together when Messi supplied Dybala from a quick free kick against Chile in the 2019 Copa América third-place match, which Dybala finished with a lovely chip.
Following Argentina’s opening defeat against Saudi Arabia, I wrote at the time that it would be a mistake for Argentina to go through the tournament leaving one of their best players on the bench. And while Argentina ultimately made it to the final without relying heavily on him, Dybala was needed for a small but critical and iconic cameo in the closing minutes. He made a crucial defensive clearance against Mbappé and confidently converted his penalty in the shootout. His intervention even inspired an amusing online meme suggesting that Dybala was actually Scaloni’s son, sent back from the future to save Argentina.
Messi converted his penalty in the shootout against France using the stutter-step technique he had reportedly picked up during his time playing alongside Neymar at Paris Saint-Germain, a technique of which, for the record, I am not particularly fond. Neymar is, for better or worse, its master, and the rumor that Messi learned it from him adds an interesting wrinkle to a period that was largely viewed as a failure. Messi’s move to Paris, where he joined Neymar and Mbappé, had promised an extraordinary attacking partnership but ultimately failed to deliver the Champions League success expected of them.
More remarkably, the narrative surrounding Messi had completely reversed. For years, he had been criticized for producing extraordinary performances for Barcelona while repeatedly falling short with Argentina. At PSG, he was now winning international tournaments with his country while his club career was comparatively disappointing. There was even the awkward spectacle of Messi returning to Paris as a world champion after defeating France in the final, before eventually being suspended by PSG and apologizing for an unauthorized trip to Saudi Arabia. The footballer once accused of prioritizing his club over his country had, in the latter stages of his career, become almost the opposite.
What made Argentina’s achievement particularly remarkable was the relationship Messi had developed with his teammates. At times, the Argentine players seemed almost more determined to win the World Cup for him than for themselves. They understood what the achievement would mean to their captain, and they embraced that responsibility in a way that gave the team an extraordinary collective quality. Their commitment was not simply to win alongside Messi, but to play in a manner that allowed him to become the central protagonist of their success.
Scaloni deserves enormous credit for creating that environment, as do the extraordinary supporting figures who emerged around Messi. Di María, whose contributions in major finals were so often decisive. Martínez, whose extraordinary save against Randal Kolo Muani in the dying moments of extra time in the 2022 final remains one of the most consequential interventions in football history. Argentina’s victory also completed a remarkable historical progression: Mario Kempes had inspired the country’s first World Cup triumph in 1978, Maradona had delivered the second in 1986, and now Messi had added the third star. Whatever arguments may continue concerning the relative greatness of those players, Messi’s place in Argentina’s history had become unassailable.
There is an interesting parallel between Messi’s international career and that of Tom Brady, whose extraordinary longevity similarly transformed the historical assessment of his achievements. During the first half of Brady’s career, the defining individual comparison was with Peyton Manning. The two were frequently measured against one another, and for long periods Manning was considered the superior quarterback by many observers. Brady had won three Super Bowls early in his career, but what followed was an extended period of painful near-misses, including two defeats against the New York Giants involving some of the most improbable catches in Super Bowl history.
The elusive fourth championship finally arrived following the 2014 season, and the floodgates opened. Brady won another two championships with New England before adding a seventh with Tampa Bay, a victory I personally regard as rather less impressive than some of his earlier accomplishments, although its historical significance is undeniable. As Manning’s career ended, the rivalry that had defined Brady’s earlier years became increasingly irrelevant to the historical discussion. New comparisons emerged, first with quarterbacks such as Aaron Rodgers and eventually Patrick Mahomes, widely regarded as a potential future challenger to Brady’s legacy.
Brady defeated Mahomes in the 2018 AFC Championship Game and again in Super Bowl LV, this time with Tampa Bay. His final achievements had effectively settled the earlier debate with Manning, even as a new generation of rivals emerged.
Messi’s career followed a remarkably similar trajectory. For years, his defining individual comparison was with Cristiano Ronaldo, and the two dominated the discussion surrounding football’s greatest contemporary player. Yet as Messi’s international achievements escalated during the latter stages of his career, the comparison increasingly shifted toward a younger rival in Mbappé, whose extraordinary performance against Argentina in 2018 had announced his arrival on the World Cup stage.
I have actually found myself supporting Ronaldo more frequently than Messi over the past five years, particularly as I have become increasingly uncomfortable with some aspects of Messi’s behavior and the double standard in how the two players are treated. Ronaldo remains a magnificent footballer whom I would place among my ten greatest players, although behind figures such as Johan Cruyff and Brazil’s Romário. I also admire aspects of the example he sets, including his disciplined lifestyle and clean, tattoo-free appearance, which distinguishes him from many contemporary footballers.
Nevertheless, I believe Messi’s overall record has largely settled their historical comparison. Arguments for Ronaldo increasingly depend upon subjective considerations, including the familiar hypothetical about performing on a “rainy night in Stoke,” rather than the totality of their respective accomplishments. That does not diminish Ronaldo’s greatness, any more than Brady’s achievements diminish Manning’s. It simply reflects the way extraordinary late-career success can transform the historical standing of an athlete.
The 2022 World Cup triumph, in my view, cemented Messi’s place as the greatest footballer of all time. It was the achievement that finally elevated him beyond Maradona, whose international legacy had so long dominated the discussion in Argentina. Messi had already accumulated an extraordinary collection of individual and club honors, including a record number of Ballon d’Or awards, most of which were thoroughly deserved. Winning the World Cup as Argentina’s central figure completed the argument for me. What he has accomplished since has only widened the gap between himself and the great players of the past, present and future. Anyone hoping to supplant him as football’s GOAT faces an extraordinarily tall task.
And once Messi began making history with Argentina, he kept doing it.
At 39, Messi produced another extraordinary World Cup campaign in 2026, scoring eight goals and supplying four assists as Argentina reached a second consecutive final. Six of those goals came during the group stage, but his influence continued throughout the knockout rounds, including a goal and assist against Egypt, another assist against Switzerland, and two decisive assists in Argentina’s dramatic semifinal victory over England.
That semifinal was particularly painful for those of us supporting England. Anthony Gordon had given England the lead, but Messi inspired Argentina’s late comeback, assisting Enzo Fernández’s equalizer before supplying Lautaro Martínez for the stoppage-time winner. It was one of the most extraordinary late-career performances imaginable, and one that invites comparison with the greatest individual World Cup campaigns in history. I am not prepared to declare it the greatest individual performance ever produced at a World Cup, but a compelling argument could certainly be made.
Argentina’s extraordinary run finally ended against Spain, losing 1–0 after extra time in the final. It was disappointing, certainly, but there was none of the historical baggage that had accompanied Messi’s previous World Cup defeats. The ultimate prize had already been secured.
His performances also offered an interesting lesson in longevity. Having become the first active MLS player to win the Ballon d’Or in 2023, Messi subsequently demonstrated that an aging international star could use the flexibility and reduced physical demands of a lesser league to preserve himself for international competition. MLS is certainly not a top league, but it is difficult to imagine Messi having produced a better World Cup at 39 had he been playing in one of Europe’s major leagues. Other aging stars have moved to MLS, but none has maintained Messi’s staggering rate of goal production and goal involvement. Even at 39, he remains clearly capable of performing at an elite level, particularly in a team built around him.
What made Messi’s final years with Argentina so remarkable was not simply the accumulation of individual achievements, but the manner in which he had transformed his relationship with his country. The player who had once been criticized for failing to reproduce his Barcelona success on the international stage had become the central figure in the most successful period of Argentine football in generations. He had carried the weight of Maradona’s legacy for years, and ultimately responded by adding a third star to those delivered by Kempes and Maradona. Whatever criticisms one might make of his personality or certain aspects of his later career, his achievements with Argentina deserve extraordinary admiration.
And so we return to Messi’s farewell against Benin, where one of his final contributions was an assist to Nico Paz. Others have commented on the similarities between that moment and Messi’s first goal for Argentina, but for me it brought back more visceral, visual memories of the Argentine teams of my youth: a crafty, dark-haired No. 10 supplying a long, blond-haired forward. There was Maradona alongside Claudio Caniggia, and later Ariel Ortega supplying Gabriel Batistuta, one of my childhood idols. Seeing Messi and Paz together recalled those wonderful combinations.
Some have suggested that Paz should be the next player to wear Argentina’s famous No. 10 shirt. I have my own thoughts about who should inherit it in the immediate aftermath of Messi’s departure, but more on that in my next article.
Until then, well done, Leo. Thank you for the wonderful memories, and for the passion you have shown for your country and for football, which you shared with so many of us.
¡Viva la Albiceleste!
