Messi and Argentina: 21 years, 207 caps, 125 goals

For most of his career the question about Messi was the national team. He won everything at Barcelona and kept losing with Argentina, and a part of the country held it against him. The second half of his international career answered the question in about three years. This page covers both halves.

Timeline

1. July 2005Wins the FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherlands, scoring both goals in the 2-1 final against Nigeria. Top scorer with six and player of the tournament.
2. 17 August 2005Senior debut against Hungary in Budapest, aged 18. Sent off moments after coming on.
3. 1 March 2006First international goal, against Croatia in Basel.
4. June 2006Scores against Serbia and Montenegro at the World Cup in Germany, becoming Argentina's youngest World Cup scorer. Argentina go out to the hosts in the quarter-finals.
5. July 2007Loses the Copa América final 3-0 to Brazil. Named the tournament's best young player.
6. August 2008Olympic gold in Beijing, beating Nigeria 1-0 in the final.
7. July 2010World Cup quarter-final exit, 4-0 to Germany, under coach Diego Maradona. No goals at the tournament.
8. August 2011Named captain by new coach Alejandro Sabella.
9. 13 July 2014Loses the World Cup final 1-0 to Germany in Rio after extra time. Wins the Golden Ball.
10. July 2015Loses the Copa América final to Chile on penalties.
11. June 2016Loses the Copa América Centenario final to Chile on penalties again, missing his own kick. Announces his retirement that night.
12. August 2016Returns to the national team.
13. October 2017Hat-trick in Quito against Ecuador sends Argentina to the 2018 World Cup on the final day of qualifying.
14. June 2018World Cup round-of-16 defeat, 4-3 to France.
15. 10 July 2021Wins the Copa América, 1-0 against Brazil at the Maracanã. Best player and top scorer of the tournament. His first senior title, at 34.
16. 1 June 2022Wins the Finalissima, 3-0 against Italy at Wembley.
17. 18 December 2022Wins the World Cup in Qatar. Scores twice in a 3-3 final against France, then his penalty in the 4-2 shootout. Second Golden Ball.
18. 14 July 2024Wins a second Copa América, 1-0 against Colombia in Miami Gardens. Leaves the final injured in the second half.
19. 19 July 2026Loses the World Cup final 1-0 to Spain after extra time in New Jersey. Eight goals and four assists at the tournament, second in the Golden Boot race.
20. 31 August 2026Announces his retirement from international football.
21. 6 October 2026Farewell match against Benin at the Más Monumental.

World Cup by World Cup

The lost finals and the first retirement

Between 2007 and 2016 Argentina reached four major finals with Messi and lost all four, three of them in consecutive years. The 2014 World Cup final was the closest: Gonzalo Higuaín and Messi both missed good chances before Mario Götze scored for Germany in the 113th minute. Messi was given the Golden Ball and looked at it on the podium like it belonged to somebody else.

The 2016 Copa América Centenario in New Jersey was the low point. Messi missed his penalty in the shootout against Chile and announced his retirement in the tunnel afterwards. Supporters held rallies asking him to come back, the president of Argentina called him, and in August he did.

Scaloni and the turn

After the 2018 World Cup, the AFA gave the job to Lionel Scaloni, then an interim coach with no senior management experience. He rebuilt the team around Messi with players who would run for him: Rodrigo De Paul, Leandro Paredes, Cristian Romero and later Enzo Fernández and Alexis Mac Allister. Emiliano Martínez arrived in goal. The 2021 Copa América, won at the Maracanã against Brazil, ended a 28-year wait for a senior title for Argentina.

Qatar was the peak. Argentina lost their opening game to Saudi Arabia, then won six straight. Messi scored in every knockout round and twice in the final. When Gonzalo Montiel's penalty went in, Messi had the one trophy that had been missing.

2026: one more final

Messi was 39 at the 2026 World Cup and still Argentina's most productive player, with eight goals and four assists. He finished second in the Golden Boot race only because Kylian Mbappé scored twice in the third-place match. In the final in New Jersey, Argentina played the last part of normal time and extra time with ten men after Enzo Fernández's second yellow card, and Ferran Torres scored for Spain in the 106th minute. Spain's Rodri won the Golden Ball.

Messi said afterwards that he wrote his farewell letter two days later. He published it on 31 August, after the death of his father, and left the national team with records for appearances, goals and assists.

Messi's Argentina record in numbers