Lionel Messi speaks out after Argentina’s loss in the World Cup final, clearing up talk about his retirement.
Lionel Messi has spoken out for the first time since Argentina’s 1-0 loss to Spain after extra time in New Jersey at the World Cup. Ferran Torres scored the only goal in the 106th minute, helping Spain lift their second World Cup trophy.
Argentina didn’t manage a single shot on goal before Spain scored, as their game plan focused on stopping Spain’s strong attack. They were also down to 10 players after Enzo Fernandez got two yellow cards—one for reacting to a no free kick call and the other for a bad tackle on Pau Cubarsi.
Messi, Argentina’s captain, didn’t get much of the ball until Spain scored because his team played very defensively. He protested to the referee in the second half when Marc Cucurella briefly put his hand over his mouth during communication, but under new FIFA rules, a red card only comes if harmful words are spoken. Fernandez, who didn’t see the incident, asked the referee to send off Cucurella just seconds after he himself got a red card.
Tensions ran high after extra time. Nahuel Molina seemed to punch Spain’s Rodri as he celebrated, and Leandro Paredes grabbed Eric Garcia’s neck before helping bring down Barcelona star Gavi with Thiago Almada.
In the end, Messi had to settle for the runner-up medal in what might be his final World Cup game. On his boots for the final, he had written “The Last Tango,” hinting he might retire from international play. Although no official announcement has been made, Messi has now shared an open letter about the loss.
In his letter, Messi said, “The pain is huge, and it will take time to heal. But I’m holding onto the good moments—the matches we fought hard to turn around and memories that will last forever. I’ll always remember the support from the whole country, which helped bring us back as one of the top teams in the world. It’s hard to see it now, but this team made it to two World Cup finals in a row.”
He didn’t get into the controversial moments involving some Argentine players. Instead, he said the country had come together, sharing a huge pride in being Argentine. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart for every kind message and support. Once again, we united as a country, proud to be Argentine. I also want to congratulate Spain on winning the World Cup.”