Argentina captain Lionel Messi hopes forward Ángel Di María ends his international career with a goal in Sunday’s Copa América final against Colombia.
Di María, 36, announced in November his plans to retire from internationals after representing his country for 15 years and Messi wants him to get his name on the scoresheet as he did against Brazil to clinch the continental title in 2021 and against France as they won the 2022 World Cup final.
“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,” Messi said in an interview with Direct TV sports on Saturday, adding that the team still hopes he will reverse his decision.
“We always tell him that if everything goes well, we have playoff games coming up. Nevertheless, ‘Fideo’ [Di María] has made up his mind and there’s nothing that can change it.”
Di María has scored 31 goals in 144 appearances for Argentina, having played in six Copa Américas and four World Cups.
He also struck the winner in Argentina’s 1-0 victory over Nigeria to win Olympic gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Speaking in his pre-match news conference Saturday, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni would not guarantee that Di María would start against Colombia.
“Even though we know it will be his last game, we will always decide first what is best for the team. 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,” he said.
“We hope that everything goes well and that Ángel can retire in the best possible way.”
Argentina made it to Sunday’s final without a dominant performance from Messi, who has battled a leg injury.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner zipped through defenders and created scoring opportunities for his teammates but he did not get a goal until deflecting Enzo Fernández‘s shot past Canada goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau to help seal Argentina’s 2-0 win in the semifinal.
Ahead of the final, the 37-year-old said he’s battled discomfort at times throughout the tournament but assured it won’t slow him down on Sunday.
“In the final I’m going to feel better,” he said.
Information from Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
