World Cup: Messi thanks Argentina fans but ‘wound will take time to heal’ | World Cup 2026 news

Argentina lost 1-0 in the final against Spain in what is said to be Lionel Messi’s last World Cup game.

After what could be his final World Cup match, Lionel Messi was crying on the pitch Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey, lamenting the missed opportunity to win Argentina’s second consecutive title.

Messi, without saying whether his World Cup career is over, thanked Spain, who beat Argentina 1-0 Finally, I said that these memories will live on, in an Instagram post on Monday evening.

“The pain is great, and this wound will take time to heal,” Messi wrote in his native Spanish along with a photo of himself holding the silver medal.

“But I also keep all the good things… The matches we turned around by giving everything – moments that will remain in our memories forever – and the support of the whole country which, combined with the team’s hard work and the team’s hard work, brought us back among the world’s elite.

“It’s hard to appreciate what we’ve done now, but this team reached the final of the World Cup twice in a row.”

Argentina defeated France in a 3-3 draw in the 2022 final in Qatar, securing the last trophy Messi had yet to win in his senior career.

Argentina was also one of the winning teams at the ⁠2026 tournament in North America. They beat England in the semifinals before coming up against a Spanish defense that held them without a shot on goal.

Messi turned 39 during the tournament and will turn 43 at the 2030 World Cup, which will be held in Spain, Portugal and Morocco.

“Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the greetings and messages,” Messi wrote. “Once again, we were able to unite as a country and stand together, sharing the great pride of being Argentine citizens.

“I also want to congratulate Spain for winning the tournament.”

Messi broke Miroslav Klose’s record of 16 all-time World Cup goals at the start of the tournament, and finished with 21, although he was overtaken by Kylian Mbappe (22).

Also a French star he refused Messi to have the golden bootfinishing with 10 goals to Argentina’s eight.

ESPN reported on Monday that Messi and his national team and teammate Rodrigo De Paul will not play in Inter Miami’s two regular season games, or take part in the MLS All-Star Game, while they rest and recover from the World Cup.