The University of Buenos Aires awarded an honorary doctorate to the Argentine star, Lionel Messi, the American Inter Miami striker, a few hours before his last appearance in his country's national team jersey.
Messi (39 years old) will play his last international match in a friendly match between Argentina and Benin, which will start at eleven o’clock, Tuesday evening, GMT (two o’clock in the morning, local time, Wednesday).
The Argentine star said after receiving an honorary doctorate: “I thank you very much for this wonderful honor; Because he appreciates everything I have done in the field of sports, obtaining this certificate is wonderful.”
The former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star added: “It is a special day for me. I know that I am facing very difficult moments. I will try to enjoy it now. I am calm, but the closer the match gets, the more nervous I feel.”
Messi concluded: “Starting the day in this way and this honor makes it special. So thank you, and I salute you very much.”
Messi announced his international retirement on August 31, bringing the curtain down on a long career that lasted more than 20 years with his country's national team, during which he won the Copa America title twice, in 2021 and 2024, and the 2022 World Cup.
Messi's achievements also include winning the Copa America silver medal three times in 2007, 2015 and 2016, and the World Cup silver medal in 2014 and 2026.
French national team coach Zinedine Zidane praised the role of substitutes Desiree Douai, Rayan Chergui and Michael Olise in overturning the deficit against Belgium into a 4-1 win, taking the lead in Group A of the European Nations League after the fourth round, which saw Italy advance to second place by defeating Türkiye 3-1.
The French national team maintained its lead in the group standings, after raising its score to 10 points, with a difference of 3 points against Italy, while Belgium's balance froze at 6 points in third place, and the Turkish national team remained at the bottom of the standings with no points.
After the match, which was held at Saint-Denis Stadium in Paris, Zidane singled out his talented winger, Oliseh, for praise, after he scored two goals from the four-goal win over Belgium. He said after the match: “What Oliseh did is simply exceptional.”
The German Bayern Munich player was one of the stars of the French national team after he entered the field from the bench in the 60th minute, where he scored two goals and passed a decisive ball, overturning his country's deficit against Belgium with a goal by Dodi Lukebakio in the 35th minute.
Zidane added, referring to his first international camp as coach of the French national team, which achieved 3 wins and a draw in 4 matches: “This is encouraging, and I am very optimistic about the future. I'm happy with the results, we got 10 points, and apart from the wins and points, the biggest satisfaction is the good work we did with the players and the coaching staff. It was very important that we had 15 days of high quality. There are aspects that need improvement, but this will happen gradually. We can do better, and we will do better.”
Zidane, 54 years old, only expressed his regret for “the poor attacking effectiveness in the last 25-30 metres, as was the case in the other three matches.”
He added: “We have to press more inside the penalty area, and involve a larger number of players to be more effective. When we tied, the game changed completely. “The win is a reward for everyone, and concludes the 15 days with a very positive result.”
All the French national team players unanimously agreed on Oliset's prowess and his role in turning things around. Andy Diouf, the midfielder who was reemployed by coach Zidane in the left-back position, said: “Olesieh is a player capable of changing the course of matches. I knew him before, from the French youth teams. “He is a high-class player, and we saw that throughout training camp.”
Goalkeeper Guillaume Rest, who played his first international match with the senior national team against Belgium and won the silver medal in the Paris Olympics alongside Oliset, expressed the same opinion, and said with admiration: “He is a very excellent player. He made the difference when he came in, and he gave a great performance, and we are happy to have him join us.”
Lenny Euro, who moved from the France U-21 national team to the first team at the beginning of the training camp to replace the injured Ibrahima Konate, was the most praising Oliseh, who scored 4 goals in 4 matches, in addition to two assists.
The English Manchester United defender said: “Honestly, what he offers to the team every time is impressive. “I hope it continues like this.”
Zidane defended his striker, Ousmane Dembélé, who appeared lackluster until the moment he left in the 60th minute. Despite the criticism directed at the Paris Saint-Germain star due to his performance with the national team recently, his coach remained firmly committed to supporting him.
In the absence of Kylian Mbappé due to injury, Zidane gave the leadership armband to Dembele (29 years old), but he failed to provide the same level that he shows with his club when playing at the international level.
The French winger occupied his usual position on the right side during the match, and his teammates were constantly passing the ball to him in search of a creative touch in the final third of the field, but he did not score or assist any goal during the 60 minutes he spent on the field. Zidane said: “I saw Dembele perform very well, especially at the beginning of the match and the beginning of the second half. He had great energy, and there was no problem in this aspect. I am satisfied with what he provided. He was our leader and a role model for all his colleagues. “I am happy with him.”
But when Oliseh was replaced by Dembélé in the 60th minute, the balance turned completely in favor of France and they scored the quadruple!
On the other hand, Lukebakio's lead goal was not enough for Belgium to end France's dominance in their direct confrontations and achieve their first win since 2015, but their Dutch coach Mark van Bommel believes that his team is on the right track, despite the four-legged loss.
Van Bommel was very frank after the match with his statements in which he stressed that a team the size of France is still out of reach for his team at the present time.
The Dutch coach, who remains optimistic about the future, said: “This type of team is clearly ahead of us at the moment, but we are on the right track.” "I think it's only a matter of time before we beat a big team."
In addition, the Dutch coach points out that only 4 matches have been played under his leadership in this new stage of the team’s life, which makes him believe that there is still plenty of time to raise the level of performance in preparation for the biggest goal. It is the European Nations Cup.
Van Bommel concluded: “We are working to achieve a specific goal, which is the European Championship in two years. We've only been working together for two weeks, so we can't expect to sweep France overnight. “I think it is very wonderful that we can keep up with the opponent and compete with him after such a short period.”
Belgium's journey in the European Nations League under Van Bommel's leadership began perfectly with a convincing victory in Italy. The team also achieved great success in the match that was held at home against Turkey, winning 3-0. But unfortunately for the Belgians, the draw placed them in the same group with France, “their ongoing problem” for many years.
Italy reiterates its superiority over Türkiye
Within the same group, Italy continued its awakening under the leadership of its coach and former midfielder Roberto Mancini in his second term, and deepened the wounds of its guest Turkey when it beat it 3-1 in Bologna.
Italy has established its superiority over Türkiye in the history of their direct confrontations, as it has maintained its unbeaten record against it in 16 confrontations so far (12 victories and 4 draws).
In its first participation in the first level, Türkiye suffered its fourth loss in a row, and became the first to return to the second level.
The pressure will increase on its Italian coach, Vincenzo Montella, after it lost for the sixth time in its last seven matches (one win), including a disappointing campaign in the World Cup.
Mancini called on his players to continue to awaken and build on the good results achieved during the current international break, stressing that qualification to the quarter-finals of the Nations League will be decided in the final round on Belgian soil.
Gianluca Scamaca gave Italy the lead after 26 minutes, before Aral Cemser equalized shortly after an hour of play, but Italy quickly responded with goals from Riccardo Calafiore and Pio Esposito to claim the second victory in 4 matches.
Mancini said: “We struggled a little at the beginning, but the match was good overall. With all these changes, it was natural for us to lose some harmony, but the team showed good cohesion and responded quickly after the Turkish equalizer.”
He added, warning: “We must continue on this path, as everything will be determined for us in our confrontation with Belgium. We are happy with the collective development achieved by the team, regardless of the results. “Just the fact that we continue to compete for qualification is a good goal.”
Two matches remain for Italy; The first is at home against France on November 12, and the second is against its host Belgium on November 15.
Mancini began his second term as head of the technical management of his country's national team with a loss to its host Belgium 0-2, but he responded with a major victory over Turkey 4-1 in Bursa, then extracted a valuable draw from its host France 1-1, before renewing the victory over Türkiye 3-1.
Italy is going through a rebuilding phase under the leadership of Mancini, who returned to coach a team that failed to qualify for the last three editions of the World Cup.
Oliset confirms that he is France's trump card by scoring 4 goals in 4 matches
