Lionel Messi once again reiterated that Thursday night’s 3–0 World Cup qualifying victory over Venezuela would be his final competitive fixture for the Argentina national team on home soil, taking the emotional moment to revel in how his domestic perception has dramatically shifted to mirror the admiration he finds in Barcelona.
Argentina’s place in next summer’s World Cup has been assured since March and their penultimate qualifier at River Plate’s Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires was played with a testimonial air. The fleet-footed forwards Lionel Scaloni has installed to buzz around Messi appeared hell-bent on setting up a goal for their talismanic captain.
