For Lionel Messi, September 2025 will mark the closing of a chapter. Argentina’s captain is ready to play his closing CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifying matches, dealing with Venezuela in Buenos Aires on September 4 and Ecuador in Quito on September 9. Already the all-time high scorer in South American qualifiers, Messi is now on the verge of yet another file: turning into the participant with probably the most appearances within the competitors’s historical past.
Messi enters these matches with 71 qualifying video games, only one shy of Ecuadorian legend Iván Hurtado’s file of 72. If head coach Lionel Scaloni provides him minutes in each fixtures, Messi will stand alone because the all-time look chief in probably the most grueling qualification event in world soccer.
In an emotional interview, Messi acknowledged the load of the second. “Sure, it will likely be particular, very particular for me as a result of it’s my final qualifiers. I don’t know if there can be friendlies or extra video games afterward, however this one is exclusive, and that’s why my household can be there with me. My spouse, my children, my dad and mom, my brothers—everybody who can come can be there. We’ll dwell it that method. After that, I don’t know what comes subsequent, however that’s our intention.”
The match towards Venezuela at River Plate’s Estadio Monumental is ready to be greater than a recreation; it will likely be a celebration of Messi’s journey with Argentina. With over 85,000 followers anticipated, it guarantees to be an evening of gratitude for the person who ended many years of heartbreak by main Argentina to the 2021 Copa América, the 2022 Finalissima, and the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Scaloni’s assist and reward
Head coach Lionel Scaloni has been outspoken about making certain Messi receives the farewell he deserves. “Let’s take pleasure in him whereas we nonetheless have him. No matter occurs will occur. He earned the appropriate to resolve when to cease, and from us, he may have full assist.”
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Scaloni even in contrast Messi’s longevity to that of Cristiano Ronaldo, noting how each icons maintained peak efficiency effectively into their late 30s because of self-discipline and professionalism. “The greats are like that—Messi and Cristiano each. They constructed careers worthy of their expertise, and that’s why they’re nonetheless right here.”
Closing the circle in Quito
There may be additionally poetic symmetry to Messi’s closing qualifier being performed in Quito. It was there, in 2017, that Messi scored a dramatic hat trick towards Ecuador to avoid wasting Argentina’s World Cup hopes. Now, eight years later, he could shut the circle in the identical metropolis, this time already certified however chasing historical past.
For Messi and Argentina, these matches will not be nearly factors—they’re about legacy. The qualifiers that examined him greater than any event will now function the stage for one closing file, one final ovation, and a farewell worthy of the best participant of his era.
