20 years of legends have reached a perfect end to the local area? Messi s "last tango" at home

On September 5, Argentina, which has already qualified, will face Venezuela at the Monument Stadium. The 17th round of the seemingly ordinary World Cup qualifiers in South America may become the most moving day in Argentina's football history.

Because, this is the last official game on the motherland in the career of the Argentine football king Messi.

To understand this particularity, we need to dismantle the three limitations of fate: objective blank space on the schedule, the natural laws of age, and the tacit consensus of the football world on the legendary end.

Open the Argentine national team's schedule from September 2025 to the 2026 World Cup, a clear fact surfaced: after this game, the Argentine team will completely bid farewell to the local arena. In the last round of the World Cup qualifiers South America (Round 18), they need to challenge Ecuador away; and all preparation cycles before the World Cup, from friendly matches to training camps, are arranged overseas. This "local event vacuum" is not artificially designed, but unexpectedly pushes this game against Venezuela to the stage of history - it becomes Messi's last chance to compete in the official event in his motherland, wearing blue and white robe.

When the 2026 US, Canada and Mexico World Cup opens, Messi will be at least 39 years old.

The number is almost equivalent to the "legendary natural boundary" in the football world, and public opinion has long formed a consensus: this World Cup is likely to be the end of Messi's international career.

Since the World Cup itself is the "finishing line", the local events before this have become the key scale in the countdown. The age of 39 makes the possibility of "returning to home court" slim - the physical condition of football players cannot compete with time, and the national team career after the World Cup is more like a low-probability event for Messi.

Rather than saying that this is a "intentional script" given by time, it is better to say that it is a "necessary script" given by time.

Just like Maradona's farewell after the 1994 World Cup, Pele's turn when he won the cup in 1970, the exit of great athletes often requires such "destiny assist" - not a deliberate planning ceremony, but a romantic spark created by the collision of time and reality. From years of doubts and heartbreak to leading the country to the top of the world by 2022, Messi's blue and white career itself is an unparalleled legend.

The script of this legendary, with "Reden and Growth" as its main line, outlines the complete arc of a teenager walking from the streets of Rosario to the altar of Pampas in the repeated heartbreaks and rebirths.

At the Maracana Stadium in the 2014 World Cup final of Brazil, Messi staring into the sky has become a collective memory of countless Argentine fans. After being defeated by Gotze in overtime, his lonely figure passing by the Hercules Cup made the doubts of "Crownless" come like a tide for the first time.

In the media comments at that time, the argument that "Messi is a god in Barcelona and a mortal in Argentina" began to ferment, and some voices even pointed out sharply that "Messi's football gene does not have the bloodiness of Argentina."

2016 Centennial Copa America Final, the same script was staged again. After losing to Chile in the penalty shootout, Messi, 29, said at a press conference that "I quit the national team."

At that moment, the argument that "Messi does not belong to Argentina" reached its peak, and the fan forum was filled with criticism that "he will never bring glory to the country like Maradona."

In his 14-year national team career, from the new week after winning the World Youth Championship in 2005 to the runner-up of the three consecutive major competitions (2014 World Cup, 2015 Copa America, and 2016 Copa America), the question of "Can Messi shoulder Argentina" has always been hanging over his head. The

turning point occurred in 2021.

When Messi won the Copa America championship trophy at Maracana Stadium (ironically, it was the heartbreaking place five years ago) and ended the 28-year national team championship drought with one pass and one shot against Brazil in the final, the cheers of Pampas Prairie finally stopped mixing with hesitation.

At that moment, the streets of Buenos Aires were empty, and the front page title of "Ole" "He is back, with our souls", marked a complete turn of public opinion - the former "outsider" began to be called "our Messi".

The 2022 Qatar World Cup final pushes this epic to its climax.

Facing the French team led by Mbappe, Messi completed "one pass and one shot" within 120 minutes, especially the ground-breaking goal in the 108th minute of overtime, which not only changed the score to 3-2, but also responded to all doubts in the most direct way.

When Montel scored the winning penalty and Messi knelt down and covered his face, the global commentator said in unison: "The doubters can shut up, this is the ultimate proof of the king of football."

From "not belonging to Argentina" to "Pampas King of Football", Messi's national team career perfectly interprets the deep binding between personal honor and national emotions.

The "one pass and one shot" in the 2022 World Cup final is not only a peak performance at the technical level, but also the ultimate answer sheet for a legend to stick to it for 16 years to integrate his personal destiny and national glory. When he is now standing in the field of farewell to the local area, he is stepping on the heaviest chapter in Argentina's football history.

From Rosario's teenager to Pampas' god, Messi has proved with 20 years of blue and white career that the true legend has never been born in good times, but after falling again and again, he still chooses to get up, turn doubts into fuel, turn heartbreaks into nectar, and finally let the whole country sing a hymn for him.

This is the deep reason why his upcoming local farewell battle is destined to be written into history - because this is not only the end of his football journey, but also the temple where a country crowns its king of football with love and waiting..

When the twilight of Buenos Aires covers the Monument Stadium, the spiritual temple of Argentine football that witnessed Maradona's roar and Batistuta's scoring goal is ushering in the last tango of Leo Messi.

In the pre-match interview, facing the question of "whether the last Argentina home court", Messi did not give a direct answer, but used the sentence "My family will be present" to anchor the special meaning of this moment.

This is not a simple cheering for relatives and friends, but a legendary player chooses to open the most private emotional coordinates to the public at a critical juncture of his career. He deliberately emphasized that "we will spend this moment in this special way", and made the curtain call that originally belonged to the glory of the country instantly turn into a preview of a family gathering - every pair of eyes in the stands carries longer concerns than victory or defeat.

From the youth team's youth No. 18, to the legend of Barcelona No. 10, and then to the captain's armband that won the World Cup - fans use jerseys to build Messi's career timeline.

The blank space in the future makes the present more worthy of treasure. Messi's hesitation about "what will happen in the future" just gives this farewell unique weight.