Lionel Messi presented his final chapter in the Argentina jersey yesterday, Tuesday, concluding an exceptional international journey that spanned 21 years, after he scored a goal and assisted two others in a friendly victory over Benin (3-0).
The evening hosted by the Monumental Stadium in front of more than 85,000 fans was not just a match, but rather a national celebration of a legend who changed the face of Argentine football and engraved his name in the memory of an entire nation.
The landmarks of Buenos Aires were covered in blue and sky, while fireworks lit up the sky of the stadium, while the fans sang the national anthem, in a scene in which feelings of pride were mixed with gratitude.
Messi, whose family members watched the match from the stands alongside a number of Argentine World Cup champions in 1978, 1986 and 2022, said: “It is difficult for me to speak.”
He added: “There are a lot of feelings and a lot of thoughts running through my mind. The first thing that comes to my mind is my father,” referring to his recent death.
He continued: “Wearing this shirt for more than 20 years has been a source of tremendous pride for me. It would be very painful for me not to represent Argentina from now on. I swear I wished I could continue forever, because playing for this team is the most beautiful thing that can happen to any player.”
“Thank you,” Messi
Hours before the match, a giant shirt bearing the number 10 and the word “Gracias” (which means “thank you” in Arabic) was raised at the national flag memorial in Rosario, Messi’s birthplace.
As the team bus passed by the training center that bears his name, he could not hide his tears, while thousands of fans lined up on both sides of the road to greet him for the last time.
When the two teams entered the field, the Benin national team captain appeared emotional as he presented Messi with a gift and a souvenir during the handshake ceremony.
After a first half that ended scoreless, Messi made the first goal with a perfect pass to Nicolas Otamendi, his companion in the national team for 17 years and four World Cups, who was also playing his last international match.
He then passed the ball to Nico Paz, one of the leading candidates to carry the legacy of the No. 10 shirt, to score the second goal.
In an ending that seemed to have been written especially for him, Messi scored the third goal from a penalty kick, raising his international tally to 126 goals, amid thunderous chants of his name that swept the stands.
After the final whistle, his teammates, competitors, and the judging team gathered around him in a touching scene, before the sky was decorated with drone displays. Argentine singer Soledad Pastorotti also performed her famous song “Brendis” during a ceremony honoring the national team legend.
Messi bids farewell to the international scene as the Argentine player who has played the most in the national team's jersey, having played 208 matches, and the all-time top scorer in history. After years of failures and criticism, he turned his international career into an epic of glory, crowned by winning the World Cup and the Copa America.
For many years, Argentina waited for Messi to give them victories. On Tuesday night, she came just to say, “Thank you, Leo.”
The Swiss national team defeated its guest, North Macedonia, 3-0, on Tuesday in the Swiss city of Lucerne, in the fourth round of Group A in the second level of the European Nations League.
The Swiss national team raised its score to 12 points in first place, approaching its goal of topping the group and ascending to the first level of next season’s edition.
On the other hand, North Macedonia is at the bottom of the standings without any points.
Switzerland took the lead through Fabian Rieder in the 43rd minute, then his teammate Johan Manzambi added the second goal in the 73rd minute.
In the 81st minute, Dan Ndoye scored the third goal for the Swiss team.
In another match in the same round, Slovenia defeated Scotland 1/2.
Ryan Christie gave the Scottish team the lead in the 31st minute, before Slovenia equalized through Alyosha Matko in the 56th minute.
In the 71st minute, Daniel Sturm scored the second goal for the Slovenian national team.
The Slovenia national team raised its score to seven points in second place, while the Scottish national team froze at four points in third place.
In the capital, Tirana, the Albanian national team took the lead in its group at the end of the fourth round, Tuesday.
The Albanian national team defeated its guest, San Marino, 2-1, with a timely goal.
Christian Aslani scored Albania's goals in the 11th and 93rd minutes from a penalty kick, while Lorenzo Lazzari scored San Marino's only goal in the 66th minute.
At the same time, Belarus beat Finland 1-0, with a single goal scored by Artem Shumansky after only 14 seconds.
With these results, the Albanian national team is at the top of Group A in the third level with 10 points, followed by Finland with 7 points in second place, superior on goal difference to Belarus, which is in third place.
San Marino is at the bottom of the standings in fourth place after four consecutive defeats.
In the city of Chisinau, the Slovakian national team achieved a great victory outside its home country by defeating its host Moldova with a score of 4-0 in the fourth round of the European Nations League, on Tuesday.
The visitors took the lead with two goals in the first half, scored by David Strelec and Tomas Suslov in the 8th and 44th minutes.
In the second half, David Hanko and Lukas Haraslin added the third and fourth goals in the 60th and 75th minutes.
With this result, the Slovak national team raises its score to 10 points at the top of Group C in the third level, while Moldova’s score froze at 4 points in third place.
The Moldova national team lags behind the Faroe Islands, second in the standings, on goal difference, which tied with Kazakhstan 2-2 earlier on Tuesday, while the Kazakh national team is at the bottom of the standings with two points.
The Spain national team qualified for the quarter-finals of the first level in the European Nations League, after defeating its host Croatia national team 1-2, in the Croatian city of Split on Tuesday, in the fourth round of the third group.
The Spanish national team raised its score to 12 points at the top of the group standings, ensuring qualification for the next round, while the Croatia national team's score froze at three points in third place.
The England national team is in second place with nine points and had won in the same round over the Czech Republic 3-0, inflicting on its guest a fourth defeat in a row, keeping the latter at the bottom of the standings.
The Croatian team took the lead through Ivan Persic in the 17th minute, then Arsenal star Mikel Merino equalized for the Spanish team in the 61st minute.
The match witnessed Ivan Persic, the Croatia national team player who scored the lead goal, being sent off in the 80th minute after an intervention on the foot of Spain defender Mark Cucurea, and his team completed the match with ten players.
The Spanish team took advantage of this to score the second goal through Mikel Merino again in the 88th minute.
At Wembley Stadium in the capital, London, Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane led the England team to a 3-0 win over the Czech Republic, on Tuesday, in the same round of the same group.
The England national team raised its score to nine points after achieving its third victory in a row, placing it in second place, ten points behind the first-placed Spanish national team.
On the other hand, the Czech national team suffered its fourth defeat in a row, leaving it in fourth and last place without any points.
The match represented great importance for Harry Kane, the captain of the England national team, who participated in his 125th international match in his career.
In the 27th minute, Harry Kane scored the first goal for the England team, when he sent a cross from the right side, but Vladimir Couval turned it into a goal against his team by mistake.
Kane scored the second goal for the England national team and his 90th international goal in the 40th minute, after receiving a cross from his colleague Lewis Hull from the right side, and put the ball into the net.
Kane returned to score again in the 57th minute, as his teammate Lewis Hull crossed from a corner kick, and the Three Lions captain put it into the net, scoring the third goal for the England team.
In the next round, the Spanish national team will meet its host, the Czech national team, while the Croatia national team will host England on November 12.
