Lionel Messi has confirmed that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be his last.
Goal in the semi-final against Croatia just passed - arguably one of his most important performances, although there have been many outstanding performances over the years.
And we can also expect more from the next matches, with Messi playing in the World Cup final for the second time in Argentina against France in 2022.
Ahead of Sunday's final, let's take stock of some of his best international performances ever...
18 June 2006 - Argentina vs SeiH 6-0
- Messi is eight days away from his 19th birthday when he bows for Argentina, a talented team led by coach Jose Pekerman.
- When the teenager made his World Cup debut in the 75th minute of the match, the 19-year-old Messi put on the number 19 shirt and replaced Maxi Rodriguez. The 87 minutes and 28 seconds of the game ushered in a moment that went down in history. Tevez took the ball between the lines, collided with Crespo and then passed diagonally to Messi on the right. Messi took the ball and burst into the box and scored with his right foot. In his World Cup debut, Messi amazed the World Cup with his outstanding passing and shooting in less than 15 minutes. It also ended one of Argentina's greatest World Cup performances ever.
- "In the first game against Ivory Coast, I was on the bench, but in the last 15 minutes against Serbia and Montenegro I scored our sixth goal of the game. It's beautiful.
June 9, 2012 - Argentina vs Brazil 4-3
- It is clear that competitive international matches take precedence over friendly matches in this ranking. However, one of Messi's performances, even if it does not appear on the biggest stage, cannot be ignored.
- In 2012, New York's MetLife Stadium was packed with 82,000 fans and an international warm-up match was contested at the MetLife Insurance Stadium in New Jersey, with Argentina beating Brazil 4-3.
- No.10 Lionel Messi scored three of his team's goals in a hat-trick to beat their archrivals and run around the centre to take the victory, with Selekau goalkeeper Rafael Cabral having no chance.
- "We are lucky that he is Argentinian," coach Alejandro Sabella noted after the match.
June 25, 2014 - Argentina vs Nigeria 3-2
- While it's hard to pick a single best moment from his incredible career, there's a solid argument to prove that the 2014 World Cup was Messi's best moment.
- The star has already secured victories against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iran and celebrated his 27th birthday in Brazil, when he once again kicked off Argentina's final group game.
- Nigeria struggled to push Alejandro Sabella's players throughout, but there was no response to Rio, who scored two goals for the team to send them to the round of 16 with a perfect record of three wins and three losses.
October 10, 2017 - Ecuador vs Argentina 3-2
- This seems like an impossible task.
- Argentina emerged victorious in the final match of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers and needed a win to get Russia to beat Ecuador away from home at the daunting heights of Quito – and most importantly, the already eliminated hosts left Jorge Sampaoli's player hopes hanging in the first minute.
- It was then that Messi decided to take a stand.
- He scored a hat-trick to seal a 3-1 victory for Albicelest, perhaps his most important performance at the international stage.
July 10, 2021
- Brazil vs Argentina 0-1
- It may not be his best match in an Argentine jersey, but the 2021 Copa America victory over Brazil finally ended Messi's wait for international accolades and removed the pain of multiple final defeats.
- Although Angel Di Maria scored the only goal of the game, when the final whistle blew, the entire Albiceleste team ran to their captain, who cried with joy, most likely pure relief.
- Messi has enjoyed a brilliant cup from the first game, a well-deserved title, ending a four-game losing streak among the tournament deciders.
December 3, 2022 - Argentina vs Australia 2-1
- For Messi, a landmark match crowned with an impressive individual performance set back the years. Argentina's round of 16 match against Australia at the 2022 World Cup is the 1,000th of Messi's career, and he once again shines on the biggest stage in the world.
- Messi broke the deadlock with a firm shot after instinctively moving forward on the right flank of Argentina. The goal was his first in the knockout stage of the World Cup and breaking the record also made it one of Messi's best games.
- The Argentine captain was a threat to the Australian defence throughout, gliding effortlessly over a seemingly impenetrable yellow wall. At the age of 35, Messi single-handedly dragged his team into another World Cup quarter-final, although it could be his last.
December 13, 2022 - Argentina vs Croatia 3-0
- In the first semifinal of the 2022 World Cup, Argentina defeated Croatia 3-0 to advance to the final first. In the first half, Messi scored from a penalty to score his fifth goal of the World Cup, equalling Kylian Mbappe and tying for first place in the top scorer list. It was also Messi's 11th goal in the World Cup, surpassing Batistuta to become Argentina's most scored World Cup goal.
- The 35-year-old became the first player to score and assist in the same World Cup match for the fourth time since the 1966 match record.
- Croatia's Gervadior is one of Europe's favoured defenders and was overturned on the right flank as Messi began his signature run before finally putting the ball on the plate to allow Alvarez to score his second goal of the game to seal the score at 3-0. The Croatian Rhapsody failed to play again, and the "Magic Flute" left crying with the Plaid Legion.
- This magical moment was when he consolidated his position as the great footballer of history in this game.