TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be an important moment for a Lionel Messi. The reason, he announced that he will no longer defend the Argentine national team in the World Cup.
The 2022 World Cup tournament will be Messi’s fifth appearance. The player nicknamed La Pulga (The Flea) is aiming for the highest trophy as a football player and the only title he has yet to obtain.
For many Argentines and their fans, Messi’s footballing legacy will have to grab headlines and hope to bring back the glory of Argentine football that Diego Maradona once carved out for himself.
The Argentinian national team’s track record so far is quite compelling. Lionel Scolani’s side are unbeaten in 35 matches. Arrange World Cup 2022 will be a real test for the Tango team. Here is Lionel Messi’s journey through FIFA’s biggest tournament.
2006 World Cup
Before becoming a superstar, 18-year-old Lionel Messi at the 2006 World Cup in Germany started on the bench in a team led by Juan Sorin.
Messi’s 47th-minute entry marked him as the youngest player to play in the World Cup. On his debut, he managed to finish the match against Serbia by helping to score a goal in a game that ended 0-6 for Argentina.
Although he always filled the bench, especially when Argentina took on Germany, Messi’s debut at the 2006 World Cup gave his name to the footballer he is today. Gerardo Salorio, a member of Argentina’s 2006 World Cup coaching staff, says Messi needs time to be consistent in the national team.
“It’s like a car. Nobody wins Formula 1 on the first day, you have to be progressive. That’s what Messi must have understood in 2006. We believe that the next World Cup will be a take-off from the Messi that you see today. This is just the beginning,” said Saloria. In this edition, Argentina’s steps were stopped in the quarter-finals by Germany.
2010 World Cup
In the second edition, the 23-year-old Messi returned to the world cup and this time was accompanied by the legendary Diego Maradona who was appointed coach. The second duo saw Argentina qualify for the knockout stage after successfully overcoming hurdles from Nigeria, South Korea and Greece.
In this tournament, Messi acts as a leader and facilitator who provides assists to his young teammates. But unfortunately, the strength of the Maradona and Messi duo is not enough to win the title in South Africa. Once again, Germany became Argentina’s nightmare after winning 4-0 in the quarter-finals.
2014 World Cup
Some believe that the 2014 World Cup in Brazil will belong to Lionel Messi. The reason he was in his best performance with Barcelona. In this edition, he went from playmaker to striker.
In almost every game, Messi is the key to victory for the Argentina national team. Football fans’ attention was increasingly focused on Messi as the Tango side moved through the group stage and qualified for the semi-finals.
Facing the Netherlands in the semi-finals, Messi was so emotional because he finally reached the final. “The strongest memory I have is when we (Argentina) beat the Netherlands. You can see Messi screaming there and crying. That’s when you realize what the Argentina shirt means to these players,” said Julian Camino, a former Argentine footballer.
Fate brought Argentina and Germany together again in the final round for the third time. Apparently, the German national team has become a kryptonite stone for the Argentina national team. A single goal from Mario Gotze was enough to bury Lionel Messi and his friends’ dream of winning the third World Cup trophy.
World Cup 2018
Some people think Argentina should play as a team when they return to the 2018 World Cup in Russia. At that time, Messi was already 31 years old.
Argentina’s performance in this edition proves that no one can do it alone. The missed penalty in the opener signaled the storm would come early for Argentina in their 1-1 draw against Iceland, who made their World Cup debut.
In the 2018 edition, the Argentine national team did much worse than before. Difficult to qualify from the group stage, their efforts were stopped by France in the round of 16. The 2018 World Cup belongs entirely to France.
Now, football fans will witness Lionel Messi’s final appearance on the World Cup stage. Nobody knows if the Tango dance of Lionel Messi and his friends will bring success in this edition. However, for the moment, the one who faced Argentina national team you have to be vigilant.
Lily: World Cup 2022: Argentina national team profile, waiting for Lionel Messi’s last dance
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