It is expected that Lionel Messi's farewell match with the Argentine national football team later today, Tuesday, will witness many tears.
The friendly match against Benin in Buenos Aires is titled “The Night That No One Wants to End,” as Messi plays his last match in the shirt of his country’s national team.
Messi, 39, announced his retirement from international football in the weeks following his country's loss to Spain in the World Cup final, saying: "The time has come."
The Argentine Football Association succeeded in convincing him to play one last match with the national team, for “the farewell he deserves,” amid expectations that thousands of fans would attend to express their appreciation for Messi at the Monumental Stadium.
The Argentine Federation said that the match would go beyond sports and would be “full of emotions.”
Messi posted on social media pictures upon his arrival to join the national team for the last time, along with pictures from his last training with the team.
“Special moments I know I will miss,” Messi wrote.
Messi was on the cusp of leading Argentina to win the World Cup for the second time in a row, but the national team, the defending champion, lost to Spain 0-1 in the final match held in New Jersey last July.
Messi achieved his greatest ambition four years ago in Qatar, when he led his country to win the World Cup, repeating the achievement achieved by Argentine football legend Maradona.
Messi played 207 matches with the Argentine national team, and ends his international career as the top scorer in the team’s history with 125 goals, including 21 goals in the World Cup finals. He also participated in six editions of the World Cup, equaling the record alongside his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo.
Messi announced his retirement from international football for a short period in 2016, before he lived his most successful period with the national team, where he won the Copa America in 2021 and 2024, in addition to the 2022 World Cup. Messi continues his career at the club level with Inter Miami, and he recently won the Campeones Cup, becoming his fourth title with the team.
Experts said on Monday that the clubs participating in the European Basketball League are unlikely to adopt radical changes when they meet this week to consider a 10-year strategic plan, in a pivotal week for the sport across the continent, as the NBA seeks to enter the arena.
Representatives of the 13 permanent teams in the Europa League were scheduled to arrive at Lake Como on Monday evening, with a vote being held today, Tuesday, on a fundamental change in the ownership system that would transform these shareholders into franchised teams, and expand the scope of the competition from 20 to 24 teams.
The Europa League will also evaluate the 14 offers it has received for additional long-term concession seats, with a maximum of eight seats being awarded by vote.
The European League proposals aim to achieve sustainability and accelerate growth in the long term, but there are still skeptics.
Maurizio Gherardini, president of the Italian League, told Reuters: “I don’t think this really changes what is on the table today regarding shareholders.”
The strategic plan aims to raise the total value of the competition and its clubs to 4.3 billion euros ($4.82 billion) by 2027, and the European League said in a statement issued on August 25 that the expected growth in revenues on an annual basis rose to 15 percent as a result of new commercial deals.
Despite the positive expectations, Real Madrid's budgets have shown net losses in the basketball department every year since the 2021-2022 season. Its rival Barcelona has also recorded overall net losses over the past three years, and economist Ivan Cabeza told Reuters that the European League model in general is not sustainable.
Cabeza added: “I find it very difficult to imagine how a commercial project like the European League - which was, still is, and very likely will remain a financially losing project - can witness radical change.”
This may make the “American Basketball League in Europe” project more attractive to clubs that focus primarily on football, and it is widely expected that the American League will launch - in 2027 - whether in cooperation with the European League, or without it.
The Athletic newspaper said last week that George Eyvazoglu, executive director of the NBA Project in Europe, and Mark Tatum, deputy commissioner of the association, held talks with Paris Saint-Germain of France, AC Milan of Italy, and the Spanish duo about joining as member clubs.
Media reports indicated that the American Basketball Association had submitted a proposal to the European League, and Reuters confirmed on Friday that talks between the two sides were continuing.
“If someone came and said: ‘Look, I will give you 800 million euros for the franchise so you never lose money,’ it would obviously be an attractive offer,” Cabeza said, presenting a hypothetical scenario for Barcelona and Real Madrid.
He added: “It is attractive because it solves part of the overall debt problem, stops the financial bleeding, and allows you to keep the brand name associated with a partner.”
Ayvazoglu is preparing to provide an update on the proposed 16-team competition on Thursday in London. Both the NBA and the European League have confirmed that they will move forward with their own plans for the 2027-2028 season if an agreement is not reached.
Roberto Mancini, coach of the Italian national football team, called on his players to continue the awakening and good results achieved during the current international break, stressing that qualification to the quarter-finals of the European Nations League competition will be decided in the final round on Belgian soil.
The Italian national team finished the first batch of its matches in the Nations League with a convincing victory over its Turkish counterpart, 3-1, on Monday, at the “Dallara” Stadium in Bologna, keeping its hopes alive in reaching the quarter-finals.
Gianluca Scamaca gave the Azzurri 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, decisive for the second victory in 4 matches.
Italy rose to second place in Group A of the first level, 3 points behind leaders France and one point in front of Belgium.
As for Türkiye, it is at the bottom of the rankings without a score.
The first and second-place finishers qualify for the quarter-finals.
The first and second-place finishers qualify for the quarter-finals.
Two matches remain for Italy, the first at home against France on November 12, and the second against host Belgium on November 15.
Mancini told Rai Ono channel after the victory over Türkiye: “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 in November, as everything will be determined for us in our confrontation with Belgium.”
He continued: “We are happy with the collective development achieved by the team, regardless of the results. “Just continuing to compete for qualification is a good goal.”
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 responded with a major victory over Turkey 4-1 in Bursa, then extracted a valuable draw from its host France 1-1, before renewing its victory over Türkiye led by his compatriot Vincenzo Montella 3-1.
Mancini said: “Although we made a lot of changes, everyone was clearly tired and we suffered a little.”
The coach, who from the beginning included newcomers Alessandro Romano and Issa Doumbia in the midfield, along with Antonio Vergara, who played his first international match on the wing, added: “But we succeeded in scoring, and then in scoring again immediately after the equalizer.”
He continued: “We have to keep playing.” We are currently in second place, and we are likely to struggle to maintain this position in Belgium.”
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.
Mancini said that the Azzurri's victory over Türkiye reflects the development the team is going through despite the many changes and fatigue, stressing that qualification to the quarter-finals will most likely be decided in Belgium.
Mancini praised Inter striker Francesco Pio Esposito, believing that he has the qualities to become a prominent striker in the future.
He said: “I think he is hungry for goals, competition and playing. He is an exceptional player, and I believe that within two years he may become a striker capable of giving the team calm and consistency in performance, as Christian Vieri and Luca Toni did.”
He added: “Based on his physical strength and technical abilities, I believe he is capable of becoming a great striker.”
Esposito sealed the victory 3 minutes before the end by scoring his seventh goal in 13 matches, after he came on as a substitute for Scamaka, who scored the first goal.
It was the Atalanta striker's second international goal after his goal against England 3 years ago.
"I'm very happy," Scamaka said after the match. “Not because of the goal itself, but because the victory was very important to us.”
He added: “We knew that it would not be easy because Türkiye is an offensive and strong team, but we played an excellent match.”
