Against Uruguay, Messi played as a substitute for the national team for the first time in 5 years, his 16th time on the bench and the first since 2016. In these 16 games, Messi has had a magical performance of World Cup passing, 19 minutes of hat-wearing, and also had embarrassing moments of red coloring.
On August 17, 2005, in a warm-up match against Hungary, Messi made his debut for the national team. However, after replacing López in the 64th minute, Messi was soon sent off for elbowing his opponent.
Also in 2005, Messi came off the bench against Paraguay and Uruguay. In 2006, Messi came off the bench against Angola and Côte d'Ivoire.
On June 16, 2006, in the World Cup match against Serbia and Montenegro, Messi made his World Cup debut by replacing Maxi Rodriguez. After just three minutes on the pitch, Messi delivered an assist, and in another 12 minutes, Messi scored his World Cup debut goal.
Messi played to replace Saviola in the match against Mexico, and in the match against Germany on June 30, Messi remained on the bench and watched Argentina being eliminated by Germany in the penalty shootout. Peckerman's failure to give Messi a chance to play became the biggest controversy of the campaign and a major stain on his coaching career.
After being a substitute against Paraguay on 6 July 2007, Messi gradually joined the main squad until 7 June 2013, when messi was re-substituted against Colombia. This time, Messi stayed on the bench because of his poor physical condition.
On 11 June 2013, Messi was again on the bench against Ecuador as Argentina secured world cup tickets in advance. On 7 June 2014, in the final warm-up match before the World Cup against Slovenia, Messi scored a goal after coming off the bench.
Of the two years without a substitute, Messi served as a substitute three times in 2016. The first was the match against Chile on June 6, when Martino left him on the bench because Messi injured his ribs. On 11 June, Argentina beat Panama 5-0 in the Copa America group stage, and after coming off the bench, Messi scored a hat-trick in 19 minutes.
Against Bolivia on 15 June, Messi came off the bench again. Messi never missed a national team match for the next five years, and it was only on November 12 that messi played as a substitute for the national team for the first time in five years against Uruguay.