Photo by Bryan Berlin (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons

One last corner, one last penalty: how Messi wrote his own ending

Scripts rarely survive contact with football. This one did. In the last match of his Argentina career, Lionel Messi created a goal, scored a goal and watched his side win 3-0, all in one second half at the Monumental.

The assist

Messi had already had several chances without a goal to show for them. Early in the second half he took a corner and curled it in.

Nicolás Otamendi rose and headed it home, and the Monumental erupted. It was a reminder of what his left foot can do from a standing start, delivered on the one night when everyone was watching for exactly that.

The second, from the next generation

Around ten minutes later it was 2-0. Nico Paz struck after a defence-splitting pass, a goal that belonged to the future. When Messi announced his retirement on August 31, he wrote that "there are some great young players coming up behind me who deserve to be there". At the Monumental, one of them was making his point.

The penalty

Then came the moment the stadium had been waiting for. Messi converted a penalty for 3-0, and it was his 126th international goal.

He had come close several times earlier in the night, which made the finish feel earned. It was the right goal in the right place: a farewell night, a home crowd, and a final strike for the shirt he has carried so long.

What it meant

Less than three months earlier, the picture had looked very different. Argentina had lost the World Cup final to Spain on July 19, and by his own account Messi made his decision on July 21.

Few players get to choose how their international story ends. Messi chose a home night, a win, an assist, a goal and a lap of honour.

At 39, he wrote his final line himself.

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