Lionel Messi faces what could be his last major appearance for the Argentinian national team on Sunday. So far, however, only the departure of one of his team-mates is certain
For weeks, fans of Lionel Messi have been making the pilgrimage to the marquee at Regatta Harbour in Miami to immerse themselves in the multimedia world of their idol at “The Messi Experience” exhibition. But on Sunday at 8 p.m. local time (Monday, 2 a.m. CEST), Argentina’s world champion will present himself in the flesh – and this time not in an Inter Miami jersey – in Florida’s “Magic City”: at the Copa America final against challengers Colombia.
Is it the ultimate tango for the eight-time world footballer? “These are the last battles and we’re enjoying them to the full,” announced the 37-year-old. We are Messi, Nicolas Otamendi and Angel di Maria (both 36). But only the latter has already decided that the Seleccion chapter will end with the South American championship. Otamendi still has the Olympic Games ahead of him after the Copa
Messi: “This new generation doesn’t even realize how hard it is “
How many chapters will end at the Hard Rock Stadium – which is significantly larger than Inter Miami’s arena – remains to be seen. It will be Messi’s fifth final in seven Copa appearances. As in the 2014 World Cup final against Germany, the only consolation prize at the world’s oldest national tournament was second place in 2007, 2015 and 2016. It was not until 2021 that he won his first title with Argentina, followed by trophies in 2022 at the Finalissima against European champions Italy and at the World Cup in Qatar against France.
“This new generation doesn’t even realize how difficult it is to achieve what they have achieved,” said Messi, thinking of his old teammates, who always ended up empty-handed. But before he retires, he wants to continue having fun – with his family in the stands and alongside di Maria one last time. In the Albiceleste jersey, the duo played together 112 times on the pitch, scoring twelve goals for each other. However, they stuttered at the Copa, partly because Messi’s adductor muscles have been tweaking since the second group game against Chile. He only scored his first goal of the tournament in the semi-final
James “only ever wanted to play in the final once “
In contrast, James exceeded expectations in the final: The 32-year-old led Colombia to their first final since their only triumph in 2001 with a goal and six assists, playing a part in more than half of his team’s twelve goals in the tournament. “I’ve been playing for almost 13 years now and I’ve only ever wanted one final,” said a jubilant James.
However, Colombia’s success also bears the signature of coach Nestor Lorenzo. The Argentinian-born coach, who lost to Germany as a player in the 1990 World Cup final and as an assistant coach in the quarter-finals of the 2006 World Cup, played a major part in the 28-game unbeaten streak that began after a 1-0 draw against Argentina in February 2022. Since then, the Colombians have won against Germany (2:0), Brazil (2:1) and most recently against European Championship finalists Spain (1:0) in March.
