Lionel Messi’s decision to retire from international football on August 31, 2026, brought the curtain down on one of the greatest careers in the history of the game.
Argentina’s record appearance-maker and goalscorer leaves with 125 goals in 207 caps, a World Cup, two Copa América titles and an Olympic gold medal among his many achievements.
Messi said his decision to end his international career “hurts me deeply” but that “the time has come,” insisting he had given everything to the national team and had “nothing left to give.” The 39-year-old said the emergence of talented young players also influenced his decision, adding that they deserved their opportunity.
Earlier in August, Messi said he was considering his future in football following the death of his father, Jorge, who died at the age of 68 after a long illness. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner revealed that he wrote his retirement message on July 21, two days after Argentina’s defeat to Spain in the 2026 World Cup final.
It brings an end to a stellar career that began with a red card less than a minute into his senior debut against Hungary in 2005, and closed with defeat to Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, where Argentina lost 1-0 in extra time on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. USA.
Amid the many chapters of that remarkable journey was a perfect record against African opposition. Messi faced African national teams ten times at senior level, winning all ten matches and scoring ten goals. His encounters spanned four FIFA World Cups and four international friendlies, with Nigeria featuring more prominently than any other African opponent.
His first senior meeting with African opposition came at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, where Argentina defeated Nigeria 1-0. He was also involved when Argentina beat Nigeria 3-1 in a friendly in Dhaka in 2011, providing an assist.
But it was at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil that Messi truly left his mark against the Super Eagles. He scored twice in Argentina’s 3-2 victory over Nigeria, both goals coming against goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama.
Four years later, he struck again against Nigeria at the 2018 World Cup, scoring Argentina’s opening goal in a 2-1 victory over the Super Eagles, with Francis Uzoho in goal.
Those three goals made Nigeria the African team against which Messi scored the most before his final World Cup.
Messi added another African chapter in November 2025 when Argentina travelled to Luanda for a friendly marking Angola’s 50th independence anniversary. He scored once and assisted Lautaro Martínez in a 2-0 victory, registering his first senior international goal on African soil.
Argentina faced two more African sides in the lead-up to the 2026 World Cup, both in farewell friendlies at La Bombonera. On March 27, 2026, Argentina beat Mauritania 2-1, with Messi introduced from the bench in the second half but unable to add to his scoring tally.
Four days later, on March 31, he returned to the scoresheet, netting in the 43rd minute and setting up Julián Álvarez’s opener in a 5-0 rout of Zambia — the fourth different African nation he had faced, and what was, at the time, expected to be his final home appearance for Argentina.
His final international tournament, the 2026 World Cup, proved particularly memorable against African opposition. Messi opened Argentina’s title defence with a hat-trick in a 3-0 victory over Algeria, scoring all three goals against goalkeeper Luca Zidane in his 200th senior international appearance. That hat-trick also made Zidane the African goalkeeper against whom Messi has scored the most goals — three, one more than Vincent Enyeama’s two in Porto Alegre in 2014.
He followed that with one goal against Cape Verde in Argentina’s dramatic 3-2 extra-time victory in the Round of 32, scoring past Vozinha for his 20th World Cup goal.
Messi completed his scoring record against African teams with another crucial strike in Argentina’s 3-2 comeback win over Egypt in the Round of 16 — his final goal for Argentina. His goal, scored past Mostafa Shobeir, was his 21st at the World Cup.
In all, Messi scored ten goals against seven African teams: three each against Nigeria and Algeria, and one apiece against Angola, Zambia, Cape Verde and Egypt**, with Mauritania the only side to keep him off the scoresheet**. His African record — ten matches, ten wins and ten goals — forms a small but compelling part of an international career that stretched across more than two decades.
There was also an earlier Nigerian connection. Before his senior career, Messi scored twice from the penalty spot as Argentina defeated Nigeria 2-1 in the final of the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship. Three years later, he provided the assist for Ángel Di María’s winner as Argentina beat Nigeria 1-0 in the final of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
From that penalty double against Nigeria’s youth side in 2005 to a hat-trick past Zidane in his 200th cap, Messi’s encounters with African football spanned his entire international career and produced defining moments across generations.
Messi’s last goal for Argentina came against Egypt in Atlanta — fittingly, against African opposition, in the tournament that closed out one of football’s greatest international careers.
Messi’s 10 senior-level goals against African teams
- June 25, 2014 — 2014 FIFA World Cup, Group F (Porto Alegre, Brazil): Argentina 3-2 Nigeria — Messi scored twice, both past goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama
- June 26, 2018 — 2018 FIFA World Cup, Group D (Saint Petersburg, Russia): Argentina 2-1 Nigeria — Messi scored once, the opening goal, past goalkeeper Francis Uzoho
- November 14, 2025 — International friendly (Luanda, Angola): Argentina 2-0 Angola — Messi scored once (also assisted Lautaro Martínez); his first senior goal on African soil
- March 31, 2026 — International friendly (Buenos Aires, Argentina): Argentina 5-0 Zambia — Messi scored once, in the 43rd minute (also assisted Julián Álvarez’s opener)
- June 16, 2026 — 2026 FIFA World Cup, Group J (Kansas City, USA): Argentina 3-0 Algeria — Messi scored a hat-trick (three goals), all past goalkeeper Luca Zidane, in his 200th cap
- July 3, 2026 — 2026 FIFA World Cup, Round of 32 (Miami, USA): Argentina 3-2 Cape Verde (AET) — Messi scored once, past goalkeeper Vozinha; his 20th World Cup goal
- July 7, 2026 — 2026 FIFA World Cup, Round of 16 (Atlanta, USA): Argentina 3-2 Egypt — Messi scored once, past goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir; his 21st World Cup goal and his final goal for Argentina
