Lionel Messi picked up a groin injury in Argentina’s 1-0 win over Brazil on Tuesday evening in what was his final match of the 2023 calendar year. The Argentina captain was substituted in the 78th minute of play as a result.

“I felt discomfort in my adductor,” Messi explained. “It was my last game of the year, so I have time to get well to start 2024 giving everything.” According to the forward, the delay at the start of the match due to clashes between fans and police had a detrimental effect on his groin as it gave his body time to cool down in the locker room.

Messi has struggled with injuries throughout the past season, missing five MLS matches due to a hamstring injury. Argentina’s 2-0 victory over Peru last Thursday was his first full match since returning from injury on October 7. With their victory over Brazil, Argentina remains on top of the COMNEBOL 2026 World Cup qualifier standings.

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Lionel Messi has confirmed that he will not be retiring from the Argentinian national squad after lifting the World Cup 2022 trophy on Sunday after a thrilling penalty shootout win against France.

Messi revealed that it has been his “childhood dream” to win the World Cup, thereby emulating Diego Maradona as he won the World Cup with Argentina in 1986. While he has achieved his ultimate goal, Messi admitted that he is still not ready to hang up his boots.

“I won the Copa America and the World Cup in a short time,” the Argentina captain stated. “I love what I do, being in the national team, and I want to continue living a few more games being world champion. I am going to take the Cup to Argentina to enjoy it with you.”

The final marked Messi’s 26th appearance in the World Cup; a new record for all-time appearances at the tournament. In addition, Messi is now Argentina’s all-time leading scorer at the World Cup, having taken his tally to 13 thanks to his two goals in the final.

Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni expressed his support for Messi’s decision, explaining that the Argentina captain is welcome to continue playing for the national team going forward.

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Argentina defeated France 4-2 on penalties following a tense 3-3 draw to lift the 2022 World Cup trophy at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar on Sunday night. This marks the South American nation’s first World Cup triumph since 1986 and their third win in total.

“I cannot believe that we have suffered so much in a perfect game. Unbelievable, but this team responds to everything,” Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni remarked on his team’s performance. “I am proud of the work they did. It is an exciting group. With the blows we received today, with the draws, this makes you emotional. I want to tell people to enjoy, it’s a historic moment for our country.”

While Argentina raced to a 2-0 lead in the first half courtesy of a Lionel Messi penalty and an Angel Di Maria strike, the reigning champions clawed their way back as Kylian Mbappe scored twice during the final 10 minutes of regular time. Argentina looked to have grabbed the winner when Messi doubled his goal tally in the 108th minute, however, Mbappe converted a second penalty for France with just two minutes to play of extra time, thereby sending the game to a penalty shootout.

By lifting the World Cup trophy, captain Lionel Messi has finally won the trophy that had eluded him throughout his career.

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Argentina has secured a spot in the World Cup semifinals after winning 4-3 in a penalty shootout with the Netherlands. This comes after the teams were tied at 2-2 following 120 minutes of play.

Lionel Messi provided a through ball to defender Nahuel Molina to hand Argentina the lead going into halftime. The Argentinians received an opportunity to extend their lead when Acuna was brought down on the edge of the box, with Messi successfully converting the penalty that followed.

The Dutch reduced the deficit in the 83rd minute when substitute Wout Weghorst headed the ball into the net less than five minutes after coming on. With 10 minutes of stoppage time added at the end of the match, the Netherlands drew level in the most dramatic of fashions, as Teun Koopmeiners took a free kick, deciding to pass the ball to Weghorst who scored his second and took the game into extra time.

Although the Argentinians fired a barrage of shots at the Dutch goal throughout extra time, it took a penalty shootout for Argentina to book its spot in the semifinals, where they will face Croatia, who similarly defeated Brazil on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

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Group C favorites Argentina were defeated 2-1 by underdogs Saudi Arabia in what was both teams’ opening game in the 2022 World Cup. In addition to Argentina being one of the tournament favorites, many pundits also expect team talisman Lionel Messi to take Argentina the distance in what is expected to be his final World Cup.

During the first half, the game appeared to be going to script as the South American giants dominated the Saudis throughout the opening proceedings. Argentina opened the scoring in the 10th minute of the game as Lionel Messi slotted away a penalty. Messi appeared to have doubled Argentina’s lead in the 22nd minute, only to be ruled offside.

Seven minutes later, it was Lautaro Martinez who appeared to get his name on the scoresheet, only for VAR to rule him offside as well as he appeared to make his run a little too early.

In the 34th minute, the Argentinians had a goal ruled offside for a third time, meaning that they had officially become the team with the most offside in the first half of a game in World Cup history.

While the Saudis appeared to be shaken up going into the half-time break, they shocked the entire Lusail Stadium by emerging as frontrunners in the second half. Saleh Alshehri grabbed a surprise goal just three minutes after kick-off, while Salem Aldawsari fired home a long-range stunner to grab an unlikely lead for the Gulf Arab state.

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Two South American superpowers met for the right to play in the Copa America Final on Tuesday night, but only one could move on.

After a game in which Argentina created more chances but simply couldn’t find the net, Brazil won the right to play for the continent’s championship after achieving a 2-0 win over Argentina in Belo Horizonte.

It was yet another disappointment for Argentina and Leo Messi in an international competition, as they have now gone since 1993 without winning a major trophy.

Brazil managed only 4 shots all night, but its hyper-efficient 50% conversion rate was enough to carry them to victory. Their first goal came at the 19th minute to give them an early 1-0 edge when Gabriel Jesus buried a perfect cross from Roberto Firmino.

Argentina had plenty of opportunities to tie up the score after Jesus’s goal. Sergio Agüero looked to have beaten Brazil goalie Alisson Becker shortly after the opener, but his header went off of the crossbar.

Becker then went on to make a stunning save to deny a perfect shot by Leo Messi on a free kick in the 66th minute.

The home side wrapped it up with a goal just five minutes later by Firmino. They didn’t play their best match, but their fortune combined with Argentina’s bad shooting night was enough to get the job done.

Now, they’ll advance to play either Peru or Chile in the competition’s final.

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Argentina was one of the favorites to win the 2018 World Cup. Now two games into the tournament, it looks like they won’t even make it past the group stage.

After a surprising draw against Iceland, Argentina faced Croatia on Thursday night and everyone expected for this team to bounce back with a win. Instead, they suffered a humiliating 3-0 defeat and now need lots of things to go right in order to advance into the second round.

The first half of the game was scoreless, with both teams having a couple of chances but playing a tough and physical game overall. The second half continued in the same fashion until the 53′ minute when Argentina’s Willy Caballero gifted the ball to Croatia’s Ante Rebic in front of his own goal and Rebic didn’t hesitate to put it into the back of the net. Argentina then pushed all of its chips to attack, but they just couldn’t find an answer to Croatia’s defense. Then in 80′ minute, Luka Modric scores a beautiful goal and ruined Argentina’s hopes that they can salvage something from this game, while Ivan Rakitic added one more in stoppage time and brought Croatia a convincing win which secured them a place in the knockout stage.

One of the biggest problems for Argentina was the inefficiency of Lionel Messi, who just couldn’t work out the way to outsmart the opponent’s defense.

“He is our captain, he leads the team and we quite simply couldn’t pass to him,” – said Argentina’s coach Jorge Sampaoli. “We work to give Leo the ball, but the opponent also works hard to prevent him from getting the ball.“

It turns out that this was Croatia’s plan all along.

“This result and Argentina’s poor display was due to our good game, our compact block all over the pitch, particularly when we didn’t have the ball,” – said team’s captain Luka Modric in his postgame news conference. “We cut off Messi, stopped him receiving the ball. He’s their most dangerous player.“

There are few scenarios in which Argentina could secure their place in the second round with a win against Nigeria in their last game. But, it doesn’t seem like they deserve it.

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Lionel Messi picked up a groin injury in Argentina’s 1-0 win over Brazil on Tuesday evening in what was his final match of the 2023 calendar year. The Argentina captain was substituted in the 78th minute of play as a result.

“I felt discomfort in my adductor,” Messi explained. “It was my last game of the year, so I have time to get well to start 2024 giving everything.” According to the forward, the delay at the start of the match due to clashes between fans and police had a detrimental effect on his groin as it gave his body time to cool down in the locker room.

Messi has struggled with injuries throughout the past season, missing five MLS matches due to a hamstring injury. Argentina’s 2-0 victory over Peru last Thursday was his first full match since returning from injury on October 7. With their victory over Brazil, Argentina remains on top of the COMNEBOL 2026 World Cup qualifier standings.

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Lionel Messi has confirmed that he will not be retiring from the Argentinian national squad after lifting the World Cup 2022 trophy on Sunday after a thrilling penalty shootout win against France.

Messi revealed that it has been his “childhood dream” to win the World Cup, thereby emulating Diego Maradona as he won the World Cup with Argentina in 1986. While he has achieved his ultimate goal, Messi admitted that he is still not ready to hang up his boots.

“I won the Copa America and the World Cup in a short time,” the Argentina captain stated. “I love what I do, being in the national team, and I want to continue living a few more games being world champion. I am going to take the Cup to Argentina to enjoy it with you.”

The final marked Messi’s 26th appearance in the World Cup; a new record for all-time appearances at the tournament. In addition, Messi is now Argentina’s all-time leading scorer at the World Cup, having taken his tally to 13 thanks to his two goals in the final.

Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni expressed his support for Messi’s decision, explaining that the Argentina captain is welcome to continue playing for the national team going forward.

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Argentina defeated France 4-2 on penalties following a tense 3-3 draw to lift the 2022 World Cup trophy at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar on Sunday night. This marks the South American nation’s first World Cup triumph since 1986 and their third win in total.

“I cannot believe that we have suffered so much in a perfect game. Unbelievable, but this team responds to everything,” Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni remarked on his team’s performance. “I am proud of the work they did. It is an exciting group. With the blows we received today, with the draws, this makes you emotional. I want to tell people to enjoy, it’s a historic moment for our country.”

While Argentina raced to a 2-0 lead in the first half courtesy of a Lionel Messi penalty and an Angel Di Maria strike, the reigning champions clawed their way back as Kylian Mbappe scored twice during the final 10 minutes of regular time. Argentina looked to have grabbed the winner when Messi doubled his goal tally in the 108th minute, however, Mbappe converted a second penalty for France with just two minutes to play of extra time, thereby sending the game to a penalty shootout.

By lifting the World Cup trophy, captain Lionel Messi has finally won the trophy that had eluded him throughout his career.

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Argentina has secured a spot in the World Cup semifinals after winning 4-3 in a penalty shootout with the Netherlands. This comes after the teams were tied at 2-2 following 120 minutes of play.

Lionel Messi provided a through ball to defender Nahuel Molina to hand Argentina the lead going into halftime. The Argentinians received an opportunity to extend their lead when Acuna was brought down on the edge of the box, with Messi successfully converting the penalty that followed.

The Dutch reduced the deficit in the 83rd minute when substitute Wout Weghorst headed the ball into the net less than five minutes after coming on. With 10 minutes of stoppage time added at the end of the match, the Netherlands drew level in the most dramatic of fashions, as Teun Koopmeiners took a free kick, deciding to pass the ball to Weghorst who scored his second and took the game into extra time.

Although the Argentinians fired a barrage of shots at the Dutch goal throughout extra time, it took a penalty shootout for Argentina to book its spot in the semifinals, where they will face Croatia, who similarly defeated Brazil on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

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Group C favorites Argentina were defeated 2-1 by underdogs Saudi Arabia in what was both teams’ opening game in the 2022 World Cup. In addition to Argentina being one of the tournament favorites, many pundits also expect team talisman Lionel Messi to take Argentina the distance in what is expected to be his final World Cup.

During the first half, the game appeared to be going to script as the South American giants dominated the Saudis throughout the opening proceedings. Argentina opened the scoring in the 10th minute of the game as Lionel Messi slotted away a penalty. Messi appeared to have doubled Argentina’s lead in the 22nd minute, only to be ruled offside.

Seven minutes later, it was Lautaro Martinez who appeared to get his name on the scoresheet, only for VAR to rule him offside as well as he appeared to make his run a little too early.

In the 34th minute, the Argentinians had a goal ruled offside for a third time, meaning that they had officially become the team with the most offside in the first half of a game in World Cup history.

While the Saudis appeared to be shaken up going into the half-time break, they shocked the entire Lusail Stadium by emerging as frontrunners in the second half. Saleh Alshehri grabbed a surprise goal just three minutes after kick-off, while Salem Aldawsari fired home a long-range stunner to grab an unlikely lead for the Gulf Arab state.

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Two South American superpowers met for the right to play in the Copa America Final on Tuesday night, but only one could move on.

After a game in which Argentina created more chances but simply couldn’t find the net, Brazil won the right to play for the continent’s championship after achieving a 2-0 win over Argentina in Belo Horizonte.

It was yet another disappointment for Argentina and Leo Messi in an international competition, as they have now gone since 1993 without winning a major trophy.

Brazil managed only 4 shots all night, but its hyper-efficient 50% conversion rate was enough to carry them to victory. Their first goal came at the 19th minute to give them an early 1-0 edge when Gabriel Jesus buried a perfect cross from Roberto Firmino.

Argentina had plenty of opportunities to tie up the score after Jesus’s goal. Sergio Agüero looked to have beaten Brazil goalie Alisson Becker shortly after the opener, but his header went off of the crossbar.

Becker then went on to make a stunning save to deny a perfect shot by Leo Messi on a free kick in the 66th minute.

The home side wrapped it up with a goal just five minutes later by Firmino. They didn’t play their best match, but their fortune combined with Argentina’s bad shooting night was enough to get the job done.

Now, they’ll advance to play either Peru or Chile in the competition’s final.

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Argentina was one of the favorites to win the 2018 World Cup. Now two games into the tournament, it looks like they won’t even make it past the group stage.

After a surprising draw against Iceland, Argentina faced Croatia on Thursday night and everyone expected for this team to bounce back with a win. Instead, they suffered a humiliating 3-0 defeat and now need lots of things to go right in order to advance into the second round.

The first half of the game was scoreless, with both teams having a couple of chances but playing a tough and physical game overall. The second half continued in the same fashion until the 53′ minute when Argentina’s Willy Caballero gifted the ball to Croatia’s Ante Rebic in front of his own goal and Rebic didn’t hesitate to put it into the back of the net. Argentina then pushed all of its chips to attack, but they just couldn’t find an answer to Croatia’s defense. Then in 80′ minute, Luka Modric scores a beautiful goal and ruined Argentina’s hopes that they can salvage something from this game, while Ivan Rakitic added one more in stoppage time and brought Croatia a convincing win which secured them a place in the knockout stage.

One of the biggest problems for Argentina was the inefficiency of Lionel Messi, who just couldn’t work out the way to outsmart the opponent’s defense.

“He is our captain, he leads the team and we quite simply couldn’t pass to him,” – said Argentina’s coach Jorge Sampaoli. “We work to give Leo the ball, but the opponent also works hard to prevent him from getting the ball.“

It turns out that this was Croatia’s plan all along.

“This result and Argentina’s poor display was due to our good game, our compact block all over the pitch, particularly when we didn’t have the ball,” – said team’s captain Luka Modric in his postgame news conference. “We cut off Messi, stopped him receiving the ball. He’s their most dangerous player.“

There are few scenarios in which Argentina could secure their place in the second round with a win against Nigeria in their last game. But, it doesn’t seem like they deserve it.

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