Lionel likely to say adios
Four France goals ended Lionel Messi’s fourth World Cup in Kazan on Saturday and may have brought down the curtain on an international career seemingly destined to end in disappointment.
Argentina fans had clung to the hope that Messi could carry an aging side over one more hurdle after his solitary goal in Russia helped avoid an embarrassing group-stage exit against Nigeria.
He played his part with two assists in a World Cup classic in the last-16 tie but it was not enough to save Argentina’s fragile defense from a 4-3 defeat.
“It will depend how we do, how it ends,” Messi said before heading to Russia on whether he would continue on the international stage after the World Cup.
Now 31, it looks increasingly like defeat in the final four years ago is as close as he will come to matching Diego Maradona’s feat of leading Argentina to glory in 1986.
For all his heroics at Barcelona, Messi is still looked upon unfavorably in Argentina when compared to Maradona.
After the 2014 World Cup final defeat to Germany in Brazil, there was more heartbreak on penalties in the final of the 2015 Copa America and the 2016 Copa America Centenario, both times at the hands of Chile.
Messi missed his spot-kick in the 2016 final, prompting him to retire from the international game.
“The fact we’ve lost three finals led to some complicated moments with the Argentine press due to the differences in seeing what it means to reach a final,” Messi told Barcelona-based newspaper Sport.
“It is not easy and has to be appreciated. It’s true that winning them is important, but getting there is not easy.”
in Buenos Aires on Saturday as Argentina fans watched their national team crash out of the World Cup.