After 20 years of dominance, Lionel Messi is calling time on his Argentina career.
The 39-year-old attacker is set to retire from his national team on Tuesday, Oct. 6, following a send-off friendly against Benin in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Messi’s international career has been filled with high highs (two Copa America titles and one World Cup title in quick succession) and low lows (an emotional, and ultimately reversed, early retirement after falling to Chile in the 2016 Copa America final). On balance, though, it’s one of the most impressive international soccer careers in history — and it’s finally coming to a close.
In honor of Messi’s impressive two-decade run with Argentina, here’s a rundown of his biggest, best and wildest moments with his beloved albiceleste:
2014: Injury time winner over Iran
Messi debuted for the albiceleste in 2006 with great fanfare and promise, but it’s worth remembering that his first 10 years with the team weren’t exactly picture-perfect. Argentina’s early exits at the 2006 and 2010 World Cups were considered embarrassments, especially when matched up with its failure to take home South America’s continental Copa America trophy during the same time period. Yes, Messi was recognized as a generational talent even then, but his lack of success with Argentina was held over his head with a vengeance.
The 2014 World Cup very nearly had a similar storyline. Underperforming in the group stage and saddled with a difficult path through the tournament, Argentina looked likely to crash out early again … but Messi’s injury-time winner over Iran flipped that script and kept Argentina alive. The team would go on to reach the World Cup final before losing to Germany in extra time.
2022: “Que Miras Bobo”
Messi is known for many things, but bad-natured trash-talking isn’t really one of them … or, at least, it wasn’t until his Argentina side took on the Netherlands in the quarterfinals of the 2022 World Cup. The game was spiky, aggressive and chaotic, with the Netherlands coming back from 2-0 down to take the match into extra time against the odds. Argentina won the ensuing penalty shootout (and the brawl that followed it.) Watching him get into Dutch striker Wout Weghorst’s face and sneer que miras bobo — roughly, what are you looking at, stupid — flipped Messi from an untouchable deity to a relatable troll in seconds.