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Wednesday, September 2, 2026 · UTC
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Messi announces retirement from Argentina national team after 2026 World Cup

Lionel Messi said he will retire from Argentina's national team after the 2026 World Cup, ending a career with 207 caps and 125 goals.

TruthFoundry News Desk
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Lionel Messi announced that he will not play for Argentina's national team after the 2026 World Cup, ending his international career at age 39. [1] Messi played 207 matches and scored 125 goals for Argentina since his debut in 2005, setting records for most appearances and goals. [2] Researchers presented WorldCupArena, a dynamic benchmark designed to evaluate language models and deep-research agents on football forecasting tasks. [3] Kylian Mbappé, a 28-year-old French footballer and captain of the France national team, stated that setting high goals is essential for progress. [4] Messi has played 207 matches for Argentina and scored 125 goals in his international career. [5] Messi said he took the decision to leave the national team after long consideration and that it deeply affected him, but the time had come. [6] With Argentina, Messi won the 2022 World Cup, two Copa America titles, the Conmebol-UEFA Champions Cup, and Olympic gold. [7] Messi cited the arrival of younger, larger players as a reason for his departure. [8] Messi stated that he has exhausted his physical reserves and has nothing left to give. [9] Lionel Messi claimed that he always gave his best effort for the Argentina national team since the beginning of his career. [10] Messi stated that he feels sadness about the decision but believes it is the right time to end his international journey. [11] Messi's father, Jorge Messi, passed away in early August 2026 at the age of 68, which reinforced Messi's decision to end his international career. [12]
What this stands on
  1. Lionel Messi announced that he will not play for Argentina's national team after the 2026 World Cup, ending his international career at age 39. · Ekonomim
  2. Messi played 207 matches and scored 125 goals for Argentina since his debut in 2005, setting records for most appearances and goals. · Diario La republica
  3. Researchers presented WorldCupArena, a dynamic benchmark designed to evaluate language models and deep-research agents on football forecasting tasks. · arXiv.org
  4. Kylian Mbappé, a 28-year-old French footballer and captain of the France national team, stated that setting high goals is essential for progress. · Gestión
  5. Messi has played 207 matches for Argentina and scored 125 goals in his international career. · Ekonomim
  6. Messi said he took the decision to leave the national team after long consideration and that it deeply affected him, but the time had come. · Ekonomim
  7. With Argentina, Messi won the 2022 World Cup, two Copa America titles, the Conmebol-UEFA Champions Cup, and Olympic gold. · Ekonomim
  8. Messi cited the arrival of younger, larger players as a reason for his departure. · Agencia Andina
  9. Messi stated that he has exhausted his physical reserves and has nothing left to give. · Agencia Andina
  10. Lionel Messi claimed that he always gave his best effort for the Argentina national team since the beginning of his career. · Media Indonesia
  11. Messi stated that he feels sadness about the decision but believes it is the right time to end his international journey. · Media Indonesia
  12. Messi's father, Jorge Messi, passed away in early August 2026 at the age of 68, which reinforced Messi's decision to end his international career. · Media Indonesia
We could not place any of them by their address. None is an official body: that part stands on reporting, not on the underlying document or transcript.
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