Lionel Messi, captain of Argentina, hopes his teammate, forward Ángel Di María, will end his international career by scoring a goal in the Copa América final against Colombia this Sunday. Di María (36 years old) announced last November his plans to retire from international play after representing his country for 15 years, and Messi wants him to add his name to the list of goal scorers in the final match, as he did against Brazil to win the 2021 continental title and against France when Argentina won the 2022 World Cup final.
In an interview with Direct.Tv Sports on Saturday, Messi said, "Who knows, maybe he will score another goal in the final like he did in all the previous finals he played in. It would be something extraordinary." He added that the team still hopes Di María will reconsider his retirement decision.
Messi continued, "We always tell him that if things go well, we have upcoming decisive matches. However, he has made his decision, and there is nothing that can change it." Di María has scored 31 goals in 144 matches for Argentina and has participated in six Copa América tournaments and four World Cups. He also scored the winning goal when Argentina defeated Nigeria 1-0 to win the gold medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
