Lionel Messi and Argentina: The Journey From Heartbreak to Glory

The Beginning of a Legendary Journey

Lionel Messi's story with the Argentina national team began on August 17, 2005, when an 18-year-old Messi made his senior debut against Hungary. It was hardly the beginning anyone would have written for the future greatest player in Argentine history. Messi entered the match as a substitute and was sent off just 47 seconds later after an altercation with Hungary defender Vilmos Vanczák. His first appearance lasted less than a minute, but it was the first page of what would become a more than two-decade relationship with the national team.

Just weeks earlier, Messi had already given Argentina a glimpse of what was coming. At the 2005 FIFA U-20 World Cup, he scored six goals, including both of Argentina's goals in the final against Nigeria, while winning the Golden Ball and Golden Boot. He followed that by making his World Cup debut in 2006, scoring against Serbia and Montenegro. The teenager from Rosario was officially on the international stage, and expectations were already beginning to follow him everywhere.

The Weight of Expectations

Messi's talent was never really questioned. The problem was that Argentina expected greatness immediately. With comparisons to Diego Maradona growing louder, Messi was expected to become the next player capable of carrying Argentina to international glory.

There were flashes of brilliance, but the trophies never came. Argentina lost the 2007 Copa América final to Brazil, while Messi experienced World Cup disappointment in both 2006 and 2010, with Argentina eliminated by Germany in the quarterfinals on both occasions. He had already become one of the best players in the world, but his international résumé didn't match his club accomplishments.

Brazil, 2014 and the First Great Heartbreak

The 2014 World Cup felt different.

Messi was at the center of everything as Argentina made its way through Brazil. He scored four goals during the group stage and carried the expectations of an entire nation into the knockout rounds. Argentina eventually reached the World Cup final against Germany, putting Messi one victory away from completing the dream.

Instead, Mario Götze's extra-time goal gave Germany a 1-0 victory.

Messi received the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player, but the individual recognition meant little compared to what he had just lost. Argentina had come within one game of its first World Cup title since 1986, and Messi's failure to win the country's biggest prize became an even larger part of his story.

Two More Finals, Two More Devastating Losses

If 2014 was painful, the next two years were devastating.

Argentina reached consecutive Copa América finals in 2015 and 2016, only to lose both to Chile in penalty shootouts. For Messi, the 2016 defeat was particularly crushing. After missing his penalty in the shootout, he walked away from the national team, announcing his retirement from international football at just 29 years old. It was the fourth major final Argentina had lost with Messi involved: the 2007 Copa América, 2014 World Cup, 2015 Copa América and 2016 Copa América.

For a player who had seemingly won everything at Barcelona, Argentina had become the one place where success continued to escape him. The criticism was relentless. Some questioned his leadership. Others questioned his connection to Argentina after spending most of his life in Spain. Messi had become a symbol of both Argentina's enormous potential and its inability to finish the job.

The Decision to Come Back

Messi's retirement lasted only a few weeks.

The pull of the national team proved too strong, and he returned to help Argentina qualify for the 2018 World Cup. In the final qualifying match against Ecuador, Argentina's World Cup hopes were in serious danger. Messi responded with a hat trick, sending Argentina to Russia.

But the 2018 World Cup did not provide the redemption story Messi wanted. Argentina struggled throughout the tournament and was eliminated by eventual champion France in the round of 16. Another World Cup had passed without a trophy, and Messi's international future once again became a question. What nobody knew at the time was that the darkest portion of his Argentina career was finally coming to an end.

The Copa América That Changed Everything

Then came 2021.

After nearly 15 years of heartbreak, Messi finally lifted a major senior international trophy with Argentina. The setting could not have been more fitting: the Maracanã in Brazil, against Brazil, in the Copa América final.

Ángel Di María scored the only goal of the match. When the final whistle sounded, Messi collapsed to his knees. His teammates immediately surrounded him. For years, Messi had been told that he couldn't win with Argentina. Now he had finally done it. Argentina had also ended a 28-year wait for a major senior men's international trophy.

That night changed the perception of Messi in Argentina forever. The criticism that had followed him for years began to disappear. He was no longer the superstar who couldn't deliver for his country. He was the captain who had finally brought Argentina back to the top of South American football.

From Copa América Champion to World Champion

The 2021 Copa América was only the beginning.

In 2022, Argentina defeated Italy at Wembley in the Finalissima, entering the World Cup in Qatar with confidence and a team that had developed an identity under Lionel Scaloni. Even a shocking opening loss to Saudi Arabia couldn't derail them.

Messi responded with goals against Mexico and Australia before scoring against the Netherlands and Croatia in the knockout rounds. Argentina reached the final against France, and what followed became one of the greatest World Cup finals ever played. Messi scored twice in a 3-3 thriller, converted his penalty in the shootout and watched Gonzalo Montiel score the decisive kick. Finally, Messi had the trophy that had defined his international career for so long.

Messi finished the tournament with seven goals and three assists while winning the Golden Ball. More importantly, he lifted the World Cup in the same country whose fans had once questioned whether he could ever be the heir to Maradona. The comparison no longer mattered. Messi had written his own ending.

One More Copa América

Winning the World Cup could have been the perfect place to end the story.

Messi wasn't finished.

In 2024, Argentina returned to the Copa América as defending world champions. Messi helped guide the team through another tournament, although his final ended painfully when an ankle injury forced him to leave the match against Colombia in tears.

Argentina continued without him and eventually won the tournament, defeating Colombia 1-0 in extra time. Messi had now been part of a team that had won three consecutive major tournaments: the 2021 Copa América, 2022 World Cup and 2024 Copa América.

The player who once couldn't win a major trophy with Argentina had become the leader of the most successful era in the country's modern history.

Messi & Argentina: The Final Chapter

Messi's final World Cup came in 2026, when he became the first Argentine to appear in six World Cups. Argentina once again made a deep run, reaching the final against Spain. This time, however, the story ended in defeat, with Spain winning 1-0. Messi finished the tournament with another World Cup final appearance, bringing his total to three.

A month later, Messi announced his retirement from international football at 39 years old. FIFA reported that he leaves Argentina as the champion of the 2022 World Cup and the 2021 and 2024 Copa América, while also having played in the 2014 and 2026 World Cup finals.

But tonight, Argentina gets one final moment.

Messi will wear the blue and white one last time against Benin at the Monumental. It is a farewell rather than another chapter in the pursuit of glory.

His story with Argentina was never a straight line.

It was 21 years of expectations, disappointment, criticism, heartbreak, redemption and ultimately glory.

He arrived as an 18-year-old who lasted 47 seconds in his first senior appearance.

He leaves as a World Cup champion, a two-time Copa América champion and the defining figure of Argentina's greatest era in a generation.

Lionel Messi didn't inherit Argentina's legacy. He created his own.