Messi bids farewell to Argentina and the world stars prepare for the post-World Cup stage

The current international break will be a final opportunity to watch Lionel Messi play for Argentina, while Kylian Mbappe, Lamine Yamal and Harry Kane will return to action before the Ballon d'Or winner is announced.

Cristiano Ronaldo continues his tireless pursuit of reaching his 1,000th goal in his career, while Erling Haaland continues to deliver his usual and undoubtedly amazing performance.

International football competitions return after the World Cup, and the game's most prominent stars are preparing to resume their brilliance again.

Messi is preparing to bid farewell to the fans with a final appearance in the friendly match scheduled for October 6 in Buenos Aires, after he announced his retirement from playing for the national team this month.

The player, considered by many to be the greatest in history, shed tears after Argentina lost the World Cup title following a 0-1 defeat against Spain in the final match at MetLife Stadium. His dream of winning two consecutive titles and equaling the achievement of Brazilian legend Pele was shattered in a bitter defeat. Given that he had reached the age of 39, it was widely expected that this would be his last participation on the biggest stage in the world of football.

Messi's decision to retire was not surprising, even after his exceptional performance in the World Cup, and the farewell concert in front of his local fans will give him the opportunity to end his international career in a way befitting his status.

Claudio Tapia, president of the Argentine Football Association, said it would be “the farewell moment he deserves.”

As Messi prepares to bid farewell, the new generation of stars is competing fiercely to succeed him at the top of the world's best players.

The Frenchman Mbappé, the Spanish Yamal and the Englishman Kane are among the most prominent candidates to win the Ballon d'Or, which is awarded based on performance until the end of the World Cup.

The international break represents another opportunity for these prominent candidates to showcase their talents, knowing that Messi is also on the list of candidates.

The competition between Mbappe and Yamal brings to mind the major conflicts that brought together Messi and Ronaldo.

With Mbappe in the ranks of Real Madrid and Yamal in Barcelona, ​​this conflict puts the two most famous and successful clubs in Spain in direct confrontation again in the race to compete for the Ballon d'Or.

For more than a decade, it was Messi, the Barcelona player, and Ronaldo, the Madrid player, who turned the biggest individual award in football into something resembling a personal duel.

As for Yamal, who won the World Cup with Spain and the Spanish League with Barcelona, ​​he is still only 19 years old, yet he is already considered among the best.

In statements to the newspaper “L’Equipe”, Yamal said: “When we talk about this large number of great players, in the end people look at things like: This player is better than that one, but perhaps the other one won a title. The advantage I have is that I was able to win the World Cup this year, so that naturally gives me an advantage. “I think that makes sense.”

Mbappe did not win the World Cup for the second time, but he set a new record as the player who scored the most goals in the history of the tournament, with 22 goals.

As for Harry Kane, he won the “Golden Boot” award as the best scorer in Europe last season, and he continued his brilliance this season by scoring six goals in seven matches.

England will meet Spain, the world champion, at Wembley Stadium in the European Nations League on Saturday.

France is also playing its first match under the leadership of new coach Zinedine Zidane, and its confrontation against Italy in the European Nations League on October 2 stands out as its most important match.

Ronaldo may have missed his last chance to win the World Cup, but his quest for another notable achievement continues.

The Saudi Professional League announced that he had scored the 979th goal in his career earlier this month, and the great Portuguese star is getting closer and closer to the 1,000 goal barrier, becoming the first player to officially reach this number.

The new coach, Jesus, has included Ronaldo (41 years old) in the Portuguese national team’s roster in preparation for the upcoming European Nations League matches.

Another player who relentlessly chases goals is Haaland, who gained a new fan base around the world thanks to his performances and spontaneous actions on social media during the World Cup. He has started this season in impressive form, scoring seven goals in his last five matches, to help Manchester City achieve a perfect (100 per cent) winning record.

Stardom will not be limited to the field only, as there have been a series of technical changes with some of the biggest names in the world of football taking over as coaches of national teams, as Zinedine Zidane, the coach who won the Champions League three times, took over the leadership of the French team, succeeding Didier Deschamps, while Jurgen Klopp, the Liverpool icon, took charge of coaching the German team after another early exit from the World Cup.

Thus, these two coaches join the list of coaches with winning records, such as Carlo Ancelotti (Brazil) and Thomas Tuchel (England), who have moved from coaching clubs to coaching national teams.

Zidane is the only coach to have won the Champions League title three times in a row, and France hopes that he will achieve the same success with the national team.

Klopp responded to the German call for help after the national team failed to qualify for the round of 16 in the Men’s World Cup for the third time in a row. However, he sparked controversy during his introduction press conference in July, where he threatened to resign immediately.

He stated that he was ready to leave without receiving any financial compensation if the experiment was not successful, or if the criticism directed at him became unbearable, stressing that he would resign if the media continued its approach.

Roberto Mancini returned to take charge of the Italian national team, the team he previously led to achieve the European Nations Championship title (Euro 2020).

However, he does not count on this achievement to relieve the pressure placed on him.

Mancini said: “I have no previous credit; That has become a thing of the past and has no value now.”