How Messi is shaping up for a historic night with Argentina 🇦🇷 | OneFootball

LIONEL MESSI will face a different situation this Thursday with the Argentine National Team against Venezuela, which could be his last official match in the country wearing that jersey.

In front of a packed Monumental, the number 10 will strive to give the best of his repertoire even though the qualification has been secured for a long time. He is also preparing to experience it in a very special way, as he acknowledged: “It’s going to be a very special match for me because it’s the last of the Qualifiers, I don’t know if there will be friendlies or more matches afterward, but it is indeed a very special match.”

“That’s why my family will accompany me: my wife, my children, my parents, my siblings, and everyone who can. We are going to experience it that way, afterward, I don’t know what will happen, but we go with that intention”, he concluded.

After physically challenging weeks, in which he had to manage his effort and preserve himself in some matches to balance the load against muscle discomfort that almost led to a tear, the wounds might lie in the emotional part after the tough defeat in the Leagues Cup final, where Inter Miami fell 3-0 to Seattle Sounders.

It wasn’t his best version nor the team’s, although such a blow that he accepted with dignity without getting involved in the final scuffle and watching the opponent's coronation with the runner-up medal on his chest, could serve as fuel to boost his winning spirit, which does not extinguish even though he is 38 years old and in the last stage of his career.

On the contrary: just around the corner is the last and great purpose, the one he slowly and unwittingly reached: defending the World Cup in the 2026 World Cup.

From now on and with the final of that event in mind, it would begin the slow triumphant farewell of Messi from the National Team.

Despite the fact that Sunday’s outcome was not as expected, Messi played the full ninety minutes and showed no issues related to injuries, so it is certain that he will be in Núñez from the start and throughout the match.

The scenario might be different for the next clash, at the Estadio Monumental in Guayaquil against the Tricolor, on Tuesday 9, where perhaps the Flea will at least stay on the bench.

For now, the fans who have the privilege of filling the Monumental in 72 hours are preparing for a true celebration that could be etched in the vast football history of the world's best player.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.