El Monumental in Buenos Aires was packed to the rafters to see what according to the man himself, was Lionel Messi’s final South American qualifier in Argentina, and by proxy, likely his final competitive appearance on home soil. It was an emotional night for the diminutive star, who crowned the occasion with a brace on his way to a win.
The 38-year-old Inter Miami star started alongside Julian Alvarez in his 193rd appearance for his country. A dominant Argentina kept Venezuela on the back foot in the opening stages, but could not break the deadlock in the early going, despite some bright sparks from Atletico Madrid’s Thiago Almada.
It was just six minutes before half-time when they did so, and naturally, it couldn’t be anyone else but Messi who did it. Alvarez could well have grabbed the opener himself after going one-on-one following a fine pass from Leandro Paredes, but he passed the responsibility onto Messi, who lifted the ball into the net past the defenders.
The game was destined to end in another Messi moment though, with Almada this time playing provider. He came down the right and with a pinpoint pass found Messi free in the box, where the Inter Miami star made no mistake with the finish.
In front of an adoring crowd, Messi’s name rang out on a momentous evening for the legendary number 10. He is not due to travel to Argentina with the squad for their second clash against Ecuador this weekend, instead returning to Miami.
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