For Scaloni, the decision is more personal. He has spent years under enormous pressure and has already achieved almost everything a coach can achieve with a national team. Continuing would mean starting another demanding project without Messi and with expectations that will remain extremely high.

Riquelme said Argentines should be grateful for everything Messi has given to the national team and football.

Messi vacated the famous number 10 shirt on Monday, after 21 years of carrying Argentinian hopes on his shoulders.

Paredes received the suspension in August, weeks after an altercation erupted at the final whistle when he shoved Spain midfielder Gavi to the ground as the champions' substitutes rushed onto the pitch to celebrate.

Celebrate how Lionel Messi bids an emotional farewell to Argentina football at age 39. After a 2026 World Cup final loss to Spain and his father's passing, the legend chooses peace and true personal closure.

Lionel Messi retires from Argentina after a legendary 21-year career featuring World Cup and Copa América triumphs. Fans globally honor the football icon whose magical play, resilience, and extraordinary vision defined a generation of sport.

Messi's announcement left fans and team-mates alike feeling bereft.

After two decades with the Argentine national team, the captain announced his farewell in a message that felt less like a formal retirement statement and more like a personal letter to the country he had represented since he was a teenager.

Lionel Messi made an emotional return Wednesday following his father's death and hints at retirement, but it wasn't enough for his Inter Miami side who were knocked out of the Leagues Cup in a 3-2 loss to Mexico's Leon.

The soccer ball that Diego Maradona used to score his notorious "Hand of God" goal during Argentina's win over England in the 1986 World Cup is expected to sell for $10 million at a US auction this month.

Speaking to TyC Sports, Tapia said he hopes Scaloni will extend his contract, stressing that the 48-year-old coach is his "plan A, B and C" for the Argentina job.

Born on April 3, 2009, his life changed forever less than a year later when the devastating Haiti earthquake struck in January 2010. The disaster claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and left countless children orphaned. Ramos was among the survivors.

Disciplinary proceedings were also opened against several players after the final in New Jersey where Spain beat Argentina 1-0 after extra-time.

The history books will record Ferran Torres as Spain’s official Player of the Match for scoring the winner, but the most vivid act of heroism belonged to a teenager.

The former Real Madrid and Manchester United player also backed Lionel Messi to continue his international career for as long as he wishes.

Since 1962, Argentina have come closer than any team to breaking that pattern, holding the record as the only nation to reach a World Cup final as holders twice

He represented his country at four World Cups.

Ayala, however, played down the severity of the incident, describing it as a push rather than a punch.

Argentina face a stark choice from here on: modernise their system to match the demands of the modern game, or wander straight back into the wilderness for another quarter-century of soul-searching.

That Argentina got to a final is a mark of the unbelievable World Cup Lionel Messi played.