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Should Lionel Messi retire from international football?

ByChiranjib Ghosh|
KAZAN, RUSSIA - JUNE 30: Lionel Messi of Argentina looks dejected during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Round of 16 match between France and Argentina at Kazan Arena on June 30, 2018 in Kazan, Russia. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
KAZAN, RUSSIA - JUNE 30: Lionel Messi of Argentina looks dejected during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Round of 16 match between France and Argentina at Kazan Arena on June 30, 2018 in Kazan, Russia. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

Is Lionel Messi’s international career over?

KAZAN, RUSSIA – JUNE 30: Lionel Messi of Argentina removes his captain’s armband and looks dejected following the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Round of 16 match between France and Argentina at Kazan Arena on June 30, 2018 in Kazan, Russia. (Photo by Lars Baron – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
KAZAN, RUSSIA – JUNE 30: Lionel Messi of Argentina removes his captain’s armband and looks dejected following the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Round of 16 match between France and Argentina at Kazan Arena on June 30, 2018 in Kazan, Russia. (Photo by Lars Baron – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

Despite his wholehearted attempts to lead his nation to a first World Cup in 32 years, Argentina has failed him, as it has done on so many occasions previously, including the loss in the final against Germany in the 2014 World Cup and the consecutive Copa América defeats to Chile.

After Argentina lost the Copa América Centenario final 4-1 on penalties to Chile for the second year in a row, Lionel Messi decided to retire from international football. But he overturned his decision in order to lead his country in the following World Cup.

But now that his nation has failed him yet again, what should his next step be? By the time the next World Cup comes around, he will be 35 and most likely, will have to pass the mantle to the likes of Paulo Dybala and Mauro Icardi.

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But the next prestigious international competition Argentina are competing in, is the Copa América. The Latin American championship is the only competition that Messi hasn’t won, apart from the World Cup.

The legendary forward has starred in three Copa América finals, but has neither scored nor won any of them. He has a total of 8 goals in the competitions, but hasn’t been awarded a single Golden Boot in 4 tournaments.

In 2019, the Copa América will be held in Brazil, who have triumphed over Argentina twice in the 21st century, and in Messi’s first ever Copa América final. This would the perfect opportunity for Messi to end his career by winning the elusive Copa América on Argentina’s rival nation’s soil.

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A player like Lionel Messi deserves to end his international career on a high, and the 2019 Copa América would allow him to do just that. If he retires now, he will be forever remembered as the player who couldn’t win any one of the major competitions his country was involved in.