Shortly after Chile defeated Argentina in the finals of Copa America Centenario, Lionel Messi shook the footballing world by announcing his retirement from the international stage. The Barcelona star, who turned 29 last week, lost his fourth major final in a span of nine years. More importantly, three in his last three.
Lionel Messi has won several honours with his club Barcelona. However, his only major international honour is gold at the 2008 Olympic Games.
Let us take a look at the notable moments of his international career.
#1 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship
Being a dual Argentine-Spanish national, Messi was eligible to represent both countries. However, he chose to represent Argentina and made his debut for the country in an U-20 friendly against Paraguay, scoring once and providing two assists. He also played a crucial role in their qualification for the World Youth Championship.
As he was a victim of growth hormone deficiency in his early days, he lacked in stamina compared to his teammates. He trained hard to increase his muscle mass and returned to the squad in time for the FIFA U20 World Cup, which was then known as the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship.
Messi had a dream tournament as he played a key role in all of their knockout games- an equaliser against Columbia, a goal and an assist against title favourites Spain and scored the opening goal against the defending champions Brazil. In the finals, he scored two penalties against Nigeria, clinching Argentina’s fifth championship.
He won the Golden Boot as tournament’s top scorer with six goals and was also awarded the Golden Ball, an honour for the best player of the tournament.
#2 International senior debut – A day to forget
Lionel Messi got his first call-up to the senior team in 2005, following his heroics in the U-20 World Cup. Aged 18, he made his senior debut against Hungary when he came on as a substitute in the 63rd minute.
Messi’s debut turned sour as he was sent off in just two minutes for a foul against Vilmos Vanczak who had grabbed his shirt. He had struck the Hungary defender with his arm to unsteady the defender. However, the referee perceived it as intentional elbowing and hence Messi was shown a straight red.
#3 First international goal
Messi started his first game against Peru in the World Cup qualifiers. He had a decent outing and won a crucial penalty that ensured their victory.
He continued to make regular appearances for the national side in the World Cup qualifiers, heading to 2006 World Cup. Messi scored his first international goal and made his first assist against Croatia in an international friendly in 2006.
#4 2006 FIFA World Cup
Messi became the youngest player to represent Argentina at a World Cup when he came on as a substitute in the 74th minute against Serbia and Montenegro. In what was a 6-0 win for Argentina, Messi set up the fourth goal and scored the final goal to become the youngest goalscorer at the tournament.
He did not have a part to play in the quarter-final exit to Germany on penalties. However, his status as a footballing icon grew back home and there were questions raised from those who felt Messi could have changed the outcome of the match.
#5 2007 Copa America
Messi earned a place in the starting line-up, as a part of the team that was considered favourites to win the 2007 Copa America. Although the team was mainly built around star player Juan Riquelme, Messi stepped up with impressive performances.
He managed to score in the quarter-final and semi-final fixtures against Peru and Mexico respectively. In the finals, Argentina succumbed to Brazil 3-0, in what was the first major heartbreak in Messi’s international career. Owing to his spectacular performances, Lionel Messi was named the best young player of the tournament by CONMEBOL.
#5 2008 Summer Olympics
Lionel Messi pitched in with match-winning performances, as he scored the first goal and assisted the second in a 2-1 victory over Netherlands in the quarterfinals at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
He also assisted the only goal in the final against Nigeria to clinch the Olympic gold medal. Unfortunately, this was the only major honour the five-time Ballon d’Or winner could accomplish with his national team.
#7 2010 FIFA World Cup
Coached by Argentine legend Diego Maradona, Argentina were title contenders in the 2010 World Cup despite their poor qualifying campaign. Argentina qualified to the knockout stages as group leaders and defeated Mexico 3-1 in the Round of 16 fixture, with Messi assisting the first goal.
However, Germany exploited their weak link in defence and eliminated Argentina as they were beaten 4-0 in the quarter-finals.
Messi failed to score throughout the campaign and his international career hit rock bottom.
#8 2011 Copa America
Messi had scored 53 goals for his club Barcelona during the 2010-11 season. Entering into Copa America, Messi had failed to score for his national team in an official match since March 2009.
His goal drought continued and Argentina’s first two fixtures ended in a draw and Messi failed to perform to his potential. However, in the crucial next fixture, he assisted two goals in a 3-0 victory over Costa Rica.
Argentina were eventually eliminated on penalties by Uruguay, who went on to win the tournament.
#9 First international hat trick
Messi broke his international goal drought with a goal against Chile in a World Cup Qualifier.
Shortly later, Messi scored his first international hat-trick in his 68th appearance. He scored his treble against Switzerland in an international friendly, in what was a 3-1 victory to Argentina.
#10 25 international goals in style
Messi reached the 25 goal mark in style by scoring a hat-trick against Brazil in an international friendly. He achieved this feat in 70 appearances.
#11 2014 World Cup: So near and yet so far
Messi entered the competition after an injury-plagued season and doubts were raised over his form. He answered all the critics in style as he bagged four consecutive man of the match awards with stellar performances.
After a comfortable 2-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the first match, he scored an injury-time winner from 23 yards out against Iran to seal Argentina’s qualification to the knockout stages. Messi’s performance relatively declined through the knockout fixtures, but was enough to take Argentina to the finals of the World Cup.
In what was a hard-fought final, Germany got the better of Argentina as Mario Gotze’s strike went past Sergio Romero in the 113th minute and Germany were declared the World Champions.
Messi was awarded the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament, with four goals and an assist to his name. He had also created the most number of chances during the tournament. However, his disappointment of losing the final showed as he reportedly admitted that he would trade his Ballon d’Ors for World Cup glory.
#12 2015 Copa America: Another heartbreak
After finishing as the runners-up at the World Cup, Argentina were strong contenders to win the Copa America. Topping the group, Argentina faced Colombia in the quarterfinal. After the match ended in an extra-time draw, Argentina won it 5-4 on penalties.
Messi returned to top form for the finals as Argentina broke down Paraguay’s defence and went on to win 6-1, with Messi excelling as a playmaker providing three assists.
Argentina started the final as the favourites to beat the hosts Chile. In the tense fixture, both the teams failed to score and the match went to penalties. The odds were still in favour of Argentina but to Messi’s horror, both Gonzalo Higuain and Ever Banega failed to convert their spot-kicks and Chile went on to win the tournament for the first time. This was Messi’s second consecutive and third overall defeat in a major international final.
#13 50 international goals
The Barcelona forward scored his 50th goal for the country in a World Cup Qualifier against Bolivia. While the first 25 goals took him 70 appearances, he scored the next 25 in just 37 appearances.
#14 Argentina’s all-time top scorer
The Barcelona forward become Argentina’s all-time top scorer, beating Gabriel Batistuta’s tally of 54 goals. He achieved this feat with a sumptuous free kick against the hosts USA in the semi-final of the recently concluded Copa America Centenario.
#15 Copa America Centenario
Sustaining a back injury, Messi did not make an appearance in Argentina’s 2-1 victory over Chile. In Argentina’s next fixture, Messi came on as a substitute in the 61st minute and subsequently scored a hat trick in just 19 minutes, sealing Argentina’s place in the quarterfinals.
He continued his impressive form as he scored a goal and assisted two in the quarterfinal fixture, in what was a 4-1 victory against Venezuela. Argentina faced the hosts USA in the semi-finals, where Messi assisted twice and scored once to become his country’s highest goal scorer.
Yet again Argentina faced defeat at the hands of Chile on penalties. Following his fourth consecutive defeat in a major final, Messi decided to call it a day from international football. It is an unfortunate happening for the footballing world, as they will not see the maestro donning Argentina colours again.
