Messi's national team era, which has lasted for more than ten years and has not yet been completed, is like an epic of bitterness. In the past, Messi was the younger brother in the Argentine team, exporting his value by the side of the big brother, but after Messi's core role became more and more obvious, his status in the team became higher and higher, and the younger brother for many years became the eldest brother. But unfortunately, he has not brought Argentina a major title for so many years. And just when people thought that Messi would exit with such regrets, in 2021 and 2022, the Copa America champion and the World Cup champion came one after another. Since then, Messi's national team career has had no regrets.
It is conceivable how many tests Messi has experienced in his nearly twenty years of national team career. Not to mention anything else, whether it is the World Cup, Copa America, World Preliminaries, or friendly matches, Argentina has played against countless teams. At least, Messi has played against the top teams in world football. And some opponents have fought more than once. For example, Brazil, because it is located in South America like Argentina, so you can think about it, Copa America, World Preliminary Tournament, Pakistan-Argentina big game? And these two teams sometimes play friendly matches, and at the most exaggerated time, they played three games in one year. It can be said that the battle between Argentina and Brazil is the strongest matchup in world football that can cause aesthetic fatigue.
Looking at Europe, Argentina has also played against many top teams. Needless to say, Germany is the bitter master of Argentina, and at the same time, it is also the bitter master of Messi. If it weren't for Germany, Messi might have been able to wear a yellow robe in the 2014 World Cup. Then there is France, which has just staged a peak showdown with Messi's Argentina at the Qatar World Cup. And in the round of 16 of the 2018 World Cup, the two teams had a classic meeting. In addition, Belgium, Croatia, Spain, the Netherlands and other teams have also played against Messi, not to list them all.
Comparatively speaking, Messi and Italy have relatively little intersection. But the 2021 UEFA South American Super Cup made up for that lesson. Messi led the team to a 3-0 victory over Italy. And then there is Portugal, it can be said that the match between Portugal and Argentina is the most gimmick of this era, after all, it is the team of the peerless double pride. However, these two teams have not really played each other in official matches, and they have only met in friendly matches, which can be regarded as a pity.
And there is only one top team in world football, and it has not played against Messi so far. And the most important thing is that, from a historical point of view, this team is the opponent that Messi should meet the most, but he has not met so far.
No suspense, England.
When it comes to the football feud between England and Argentina, there is no need to repeat it here, right? It would be redundant to say more, the old fans must be annoyed, and the new fans should go through the information for themselves if they don't know. In any era, the Anglo-Argentine war is a super collision, whether it is the World Cup or a friendly match. Unfortunately, since Messi entered the Argentine national team, England and Argentina have never met again. The last time the two teams met was in a friendly in 2005, when England beat Argentina 3-2, with Owen and Wayne Rooney playing the key role. After nearly 20 years, the Anglo-Argentine war became extinct. Even in friendly matches, the two teams did not have any intersection.
I have to say that this is a great pity. Originally, the meeting between England and Argentina was the most interesting clash in the World Cup. Moreover, Argentina in the Messi era has played almost all the top opponents, except for the most important England, which is missing. Argentina does not need to make up for England's lesson, after all, there have been too many lessons before. But Messi needs to make up, this epic, missing the chapter of England, does feel a little incomplete.
Fortunately, Messi has no intention of quitting the national team at present. Perhaps, in the 2026 World Cup, we can still see Messi. It's just that I don't know if the Anglo-Afghan war will be staged at that time.