Lionel Messi | DD News

October 7, 2026 11:44 AM

Messi signs off in tears after one last Argentina master class

Lionel Messi delivered one last master class in blue and white on Tuesday as Argentina's captain brought the curtain down on his extraordinary 21-year international career by scoring one goal and setting up two others in a 3-0 friendly win over Benin. The 39-year-old's final bow in front of more than 85,000 fans at a packed Monumental stadium was less about football and more a national celebration of Messi's service to the national team. Landmarks across the capital glowed with the team's sky ...

August 31, 2026 11:50 PM

Argentina’s Messi ends international career

Lionel Messi, who captained Argentina to World Cup victory in 2022 and the final in 2026, is retiring from international football, he said on Monday. The record eight-time Ballon d’Or winner is his country’s record appearance-maker and scorer with 125 goals in 207 games, having transformed a complicated relationship with the national team into a story of redemption and triumph. “It was a decision that hurt — and still hurts deep down — but I understand that the time has come. I swea...

July 21, 2026 9:37 AM

Messi says World Cup final defeat will take time to heal

Lionel Messi said the pain of Argentina's World Cup final defeat to Spain was "immense" and admitted it would take time for the team to come to terms with missing out on back-to-back titles. Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 after extra time in Sunday's final in New Jersey, with Ferran Torres scoring the decisive goal to deny the defending champions a second successive World Cup crown. "The pain is immense, and this wound will take time to heal. But I also hold on to all the good things," Messi wro...

July 19, 2026 1:08 PM

Extended Indian Summer brings Lionel Messi back to the summit again

When Argentina lost the 2016 Copa America final at MetLife Stadium, a heartbroken Lionel Messi tearfully announced his retirement from international football with the words "I've done all I can". At 29, he was one of the world's most decorated players at individual and club level but, after losses in three Copa America title deciders and the 2014 World Cup final, he looked destined never to take home a big international prize. He was, of course, cajoled back into the Argentina shirt by an ador...

July 19, 2026 12:48 PM

Thunderstorms disrupt Spain and Argentina World Cup final training plans

Heavy thunderstorms in the New York and New Jersey areas disrupted the final training sessions of Spain and Argentina ahead of Sunday's World Cup final on Saturday. "The Spanish national team's training session on the pitches at the Melanie Lane Training Ground in New Jersey has been suspended in accordance with the US storm safety protocol," the Spanish federation (RFEF) said in a statement after their practice at the Melanie Lane training ground was cancelled. "The players are currently taki...

July 19, 2026 12:23 PM

Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum to attend FIFA World Cup final at President Trump’s invitation

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said in a message on X that she would attend the World Cup final in New Jersey on Sunday at the invitation of U.S. President Donald Trump along with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. "I considered it politically important that the three countries hosting the World Cup are involved, and it is also a sign of the strong coordination and collaboration we have with the U.S. government," Sheinbaum said. The final World Cup match between Argentina and Spain caps...

July 19, 2026 12:17 PM

FIFA WC final: Pressing Spain is simple in theory, painful in practice, says Julen Lopetegui

Julen Lopetegui knows what it is to see Argentina picked apart by Spain's passing carousel, but the former Spain manager says Sunday's World Cupfinal will be no nostalgic rerun of a friendly thrashing in Madrid. Lopetegui was in charge the last time Spain faced Argentina, a 6-1 win at the newly opened Metropolitano stadium in 2018, when Lionel Messi was absent and Spain produced the sort of midfield suffocation that can make opponents feel they are chasing shadows. "It's a wonderful memory bec...

July 13, 2026 1:54 PM

Messi set for long-awaited first England clash in World Cup semi-final

Lionel Messi has spent over two decades carving a path through international soccer, facing every World Cup-winning nation from Brazil to France, but one notable opponent has always been missing from the list: England. That will change on Wednesday when Argentina meet the European side in a World Cup semi-final in Atlanta, a heavyweight clash that Argentina's FA (AFA) described on its website as "the match fate owed Messi." The 39-year-old Messi has played Brazil, Uruguay, Germany, Italy, Spai...

July 8, 2026 8:36 AM

Messi inspires Argentina in stunning late comeback to see off Egypt

Lionel Messi inspired Argentina to a remarkable World Cup comeback as they came from two goals down to beat Egypt 3-2 in a dramatic last-16 game on Tuesday. The holders were 11 minutes from a shock defeat trailing 2-0, but goals from Cristian Romero, Messi and the winner two minutes into stoppage time from Enzo Fernandez kept them in the competition. Egypt had been on the brink of one of the great World Cup upsets after goals from Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Zico. Messi had squandered an ea...

June 17, 2026 9:36 AM

Messi hat-trick equals goalscoring record as Argentina beat Algeria

Lionel Messi scored a majestic hat-trick to equal the all-time World Cup scoring record, answering doubts about his influence at age 38 and breathing life into Argentina's title defence with a 3-0 Group J ‌win over Algeria on Tuesday. He drew level with Germany's Miroslav Klose with 16 goals in total and became the oldest player to score a World Cup hat-trick — exactly 20 years to the day since his first goal at the global tournament. The opening game in Group J at Kansas City Stadium s...