Lionel Messi kisses the trophy after Argentina won the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
In summer 2005, Messi quickly made a name for himself on his native country’s under-20 squad. He led Argentina to the title in the FIFA U-20 World Cup, scoring on a pair of penalty kicks to propel the team over Nigeria. Less than two months later, he made his pro debut with Argentina in an August friendly match against Hungary but played less than two minutes before receiving a red card and being ejected from the game. For all his success with Barcelona, Messi repeatedly came under fire for his inability to help Argentina’s national team win a major title. In the 2014 World Cup, Argentina lost to Germany in the final, though Messi was named player of the tournament that year. In 2016, following Argentina’s second consecutive loss to Chile in the final of the Copa America tournament, Messi announced he was ending his run with the national team. The soccer great eventually reversed his decision, but his participation in the 2018 World Cup did not bring that elusive title, as hoped....