Lionel Messi's night started with tears swelling in his eyes, fighting back tears during pregame warmups. He kept his emotions in check for the most part, while his three sons stood in front of him during the Argentine national anthem.
His memorable night nearly ended in a hat trick.
Messi, playing in his final World Cup qualifying match in his native Argentina, scored two goals (39’ and 80’) to fuel the defending World Cup champions to a 3-0 win over Venezuela as Mas Monumental Stadium on Thursday, Sept. 4.
Lautaro Martinez added another goal (76’), sparked by Messi, in the victory for Argentina, which has already qualified for the 2026 World Cup.
Messi has yet to declare whether he will play in the tournament co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. He will make that announcement another day, he acknowledged after the match.
"I don't want it to end never, but I'm aware that the moment is approaching. It will happen when it has to happen, meanwhile I'm going step by step, living day by day," said Messi, 38. "It was a very nice, and special day for me."
On this day, Messi treated the match like his final opportunity to play in front of his most avid fans in his home country – with no other friendlies or matches of consequence scheduled in Argentina before or after the World Cup.
Messi’s teammates made sure to find their Argentine captain, and arguably one of the greatest soccer players of all time during the match.
Julián Alvarez could have scored before halftime, but saw Messi out of the corner of his eye trailing toward the net. Alvarez dropped the ball off to Messi, who took one touch before chipping his goal into the back of the net over several diving Venezuela defenders hoping to stop the inevitable.
Martinez scored his header in front of the net to double Argentina’s lead, but it was Messi, who started the possession with a free kick to Nicolás González up the pitch.
Messi punctuated the night with a simple left touch after a pass from Thiago Almada, looking for the Argentine captain to finish the play.
Messi nearly secured a hat trick in the 89th minute, but was caught offsides, slightly running ahead of the play he finished with another shot into the back of the net before the referee raised his flag.
The match marked the first time Messi scored for the national team in nearly a year. The last time, Messi had a hat trick and two assists in a 6-0 victory over Bolivia on Oct. 15, 2024.
Messi played in his 72nd World Cup qualifier, no other player has played more in South American qualifying.
While Messi treated the occasion like his last match in his home country, Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni said the national team will surely plan to have another match if Messi wishes.
"[Thursday] will be a beautiful, exciting game. Surely, it won't be his last game in Argentina, and I saw that from the point of view that, if he decides it will be his last, we'll make sure he gets to play another one," Scaloni said before the match. "We'll find the right moment, because he deserves it."
Courtesy: usatoday
TH
.png "Halim-&-Firni")
