At 35, and for his potential last World Cup, Lionel Messi will try Sunday (4 p.m.), in the final against France, to win the only major title missing from his list. A final challenge for Argentina’s number 10, who has already failed at this stage of the competition in 2014 against Germany (0-1 ap).
If the PSG striker managed to win the Copa America in 2021 with the Albiceleste, he first experienced defeat three times in the final of this competition, leading him to retire from international football for the first time in 2016. Back on Lionel Messi’s complicated history with the finals in the Argentinian jersey.
Copa America 2007: a difficult apprenticeship
In 2007, Lionel Messi was only 20 years old when he participated in his first international competition with Argentina as a starter. He comes out of a World Cup in 2006 in which he played little and where he saw his teammates being eliminated by Germany in the quarter-finals (1-1, 2-4 on tab).
In Venezuela, Argentina dominates the competition, winning easily in the quarter-finals against Peru (4-0) and in the semi-finals against Mexico (3-0), each time thanks to a Messi scorer. Favorite of the final against Brazil, the Albiceleste however misses his meeting (0-3), like his new star who will console himself with the title of best player of the tournament.
2008 Olympic Games: Argentina retain their title thanks to him
A year after his first failure in the Copa America final, the Pulga participates in the Olympic tournament as a player under 23 (he is 21). After two goals scored in the competition, Messi and his teammates took revenge on Brazil in the semi-finals, beating the Seleçao 3-0.
Lionel Messi surrounded by several Nigerian players in the final of the 2008 Olympic Games. (Rondeau/L’Équipe)
In the final against Nigeria, the left-hander manages to prove decisive by offering the only goal of the match to Angel Di Maria. He thus made his second decisive pass of the tournament and took the opportunity to obtain, once again, the title of best player. At the same time, it allows Argentina to retain its Olympic title acquired in 2004.
World Cup 2014: the biggest failure
After two eliminations in the quarter-finals, first of the 2010 World Cup (0-4 against Germany), then of the 2011 Copa America at home, Lionel Messi’s Argentina returns to the front of the stage in 2014 at the World Cup in Brazil. La Pulga made four fantastic first matches, each time obtaining the title of man of the match. He scored four goals in the group stage and delivered an assist on Angel Di Maria’s winning goal against Switzerland in the round of 16 (1-0 ap).
After a whirlwind debut, Messi faded little by little over the course of the competition, until the final against Germany, executioner of Albiceleste in 2006 and 2010. In the most important match of his career until now, Lionel Messi is once again struggling to be decisive, missing out on several important situations. He will finally see Mario Götze score the winning goal for the Mannschaft in the 113th and will leave again with the title of best player in the competition as a consolation prize.
Copa America 2015 and 2016: too many defeats
A year after the disappointment of 2014, Lionel Messi returns to the Copa America final with Argentina. Not very decisive throughout the competition with only one goal scored from the penalty spot, the FC Barcelona star at the time was still the only one of his team to convert his shot on goal against Chile (0-0 defeat, 1 -4 on tab), after a final on which he once again failed to weigh.
Messi will try his luck again the following year for the centenary of the Copa America with the same result: a defeat in the final against Chile on penalties (0-0, 2-4 on pens). During this competition, he impressed with a hat-trick against Canada in the group stage. Despite a goal and two assists in the quarter-finals against Venezuela (4-1) and in the semi-finals against the United States (4-0), the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner misses out in the final.
Lionel Messi once again misses his final in 2016 for the centenary of the Copa America. (B. Penner/Sports Press)
Worse still, he misses his shot on goal against Chile’s Alexis Sanchez, resulting in Argentina’s third defeat in three years in the final of a major competition. Too many defeats for Lionel Messi who, to everyone’s surprise, announces his international retirement at the end of the competition, at only 29 years old. A decision made on the spot to which the Pulga will return a few weeks later.
Copa America 2021: the consecration
After two new failures, first in the round of 16 of the 2018 World Cup against France (3-4), then in the semi-finals of the 2019 Copa America against Brazil (0-2), the year 2021 is finally the right one for Lionel Messi. The Argentinian flies over the Copa America with three goals and two assists in the group stage as well as a goal and two new offerings in the quarter-finals against Ecuador (3-0).
If he still cannot find the solution in the final against Neymar’s Brazil, Messi wins his first continental trophy with Argentina (1-0) thanks to a goal from Di Maria, at 34, also finishing best player. , top scorer (4 goals) and best passer (5 assists) in the competition.
A performance that the captain of Albiceleste remains able to achieve during the World Cup in Qatar in 2022, at 35 years old. In the event of a victory on Sunday against the Blues, he could thus obtain in two years what he fought for during his last seventeen years in selection.
2
In six finals since 2007 in all competitions, Argentina have scored only 2 goals, each time scored by Angel Di Maria.
.
