Messi's Dual Ambition Against the English
Lionel Messi has achieved everything possible in his extraordinary career, but the 39-year-old Argentine star had never previously faced the England national team, and that opportunity has finally arrived. When he joined Barcelona’s first team in 2004, Messi had just begun representing his country Argentina, having won the Under-20 World Cup against the Netherlands.
Messi wore the senior national team jersey, under manager José Pékerman, for the first time in August 2004 against Hungary. He came on as a substitute for Lisandro López in the 64th minute, joining Hernán Crespo in attack. Nine seconds after entering the pitch, the “Bohemian” was sent off after the referee judged he had struck an opponent with his elbow, thus beginning his Argentina career in the worst possible way.
If Messi recalled this incident, he would likely laugh, because that red card denied him a friendly match against England three months later in Geneva. The two teams have not met since then, but Argentina, led by Messi, will face the “Three Lions” for the first time today.
The man, who followed in the footsteps of Diego Maradona and led Argentina to global glory by winning the World Cup in Qatar four years ago, hopes to leave the same impact on England as his predecessor did.
This matchup evokes memories of the 1986 World Cup quarter-final at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, when Maradona scored his famous “Hand of God” goal, then dribbled past half of England’s defense to score the second goal, which remains one of the greatest World Cup goals in history.
With 21 goals in 32 matches, the Argentina captain leads France’s Kylian Mbappé by one goal after the quarter-finals. The Inter Miami player had scored in nine consecutive matches before facing Switzerland, where he left the scoring to his teammates such as Julián Álvarez and Lautaro Martínez.
This could be the third final appearance for a South American national team in the last four tournaments, allowing Messi to replicate the feat of Brazilian player Cafu, who played in three consecutive finals between 1994 and 2002, while Maradona participated in only two.
