Lionel Messi’s international debut for Argentina in 2005 is often remembered as a nightmare beginning for the player who would go on to become one of the greatest footballers of all time.
At just 18 years old, Messi was called up to the senior national team for a friendly match against Hungary at the Puskas Stadium in Budapest on August 17, 2005. Expectations were high as the young prodigy, already making waves at Barcelona, was seen as Argentina’s next big footballing hope.
