Argentina star Lionel Messi hopes Angel Di Maria can enjoy a fitting send-off in Sunday’s Copa America final against Colombia.
Argentina star Lionel Messi hopes Angel Di Maria can sign off his international career with a goal in Sunday’s Copa America final against Colombia in Miami Gardens.
Di Maria announced in November his plans to walk away from the national team once he had represented his country at Copa America 2024.
The 36-year-old reiterated his stance following Tuesday’s semi-final success over Canada, ensuring Sunday’s showpiece will be the final time he wears the iconic blue and white shirt.
Di Maria, who has scored 31 goals in 144 international appearances, previously found the net in Argentina’s triumphs against Brazil in the 2021 Copa America final and against France in the 2022 World Cup final.
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Messi hopes Di Maria can enjoy fairy-tale ending
Messi hopes Di Maria can score in another final to bring a memorable end to a successful 15-year career on the international stage.
The 37-year-old told Direct TV Sports: “Who knows? Maybe he’ll score another goal in the final, like he did in all the previous ones he’s played in. It would be extraordinary.”
Di Maria has started three of Argentina’s five matches in the USA, including the 2-0 semi-final win over Canada at the MetLife Stadium.
However, Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni has been unable to offer any guarantees that Di Maria would start his final international match.
“Even though we know it will be his last game, we will always decide first what is best for the team,” Scaloni told reporters at Saturday’s pre-match press conference.
If he has to play it’s because he has to play, if we decide not to play him it’s because we think differently.
We hope that everything goes well and that Angel can retire in the best possible way.”
What about Messi’s future?
While the focus may be on Di Maria’s international retirement, there is some uncertainty about how long Messi will continue to represent his country.
Speaking after Wednesday’s semi-final success, Messi insisted that he “will try to keep going”, but admitted he was not looking too far into the future.
The Inter Miami forward is preparing to make his fifth appearance in a Copa America final, having previously featured in the showpiece event in 2007, 2015, 2016 and 2021.
Messi and Di Maria will both be aiming to help their country clinch a record-breaking 16th Copa America title, with Argentina currently sharing the record with Uruguay.
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