Leo bows out in style: 3 biggest moments of Messi's final game with Argentina

The 39-year-old played the full 90 minutes in front of more than 85,000 supporters in Buenos Aires on Tuesday night, bringing the curtain down on a 21-year career with the Albiceleste.

It was his 208th and final appearance for his country.

After a goalless first half, Messi took control after the break. Three minutes into the second period, he delivered a pinpoint corner that fellow veteran Nicolás Otamendi, also playing his last international match, converted to open the scoring.

Messi then set up substitute Nico Paz for a superb curling finish in the 61st minute to make it 2-0.

The moment the crowd had been waiting for arrived in the 71st minute.

Awarded a penalty after a foul on Agustín Giay, Messi stepped up and blasted the ball into the top corner for his 126th Argentina goal, sealing a 3-0 victory and ensuring he was directly involved in every goal of the night.

Three minutes into the second half, Messi swung in a pinpoint corner from the left. Fellow veteran Nicolás Otamendi, also playing his final international match, rose unmarked and smashed the ball home to open the scoring. It was a fitting moment shared by two long-serving leaders of the Albiceleste.

Just past the hour mark, Messi slipped a precise pass into the path of substitute Nico Paz. The young midfielder curled a superb left-footed strike into the far corner, making it 2-0. Many saw it as a symbolic passing of the torch, with Paz widely tipped as a future No. 10 for Argentina.

In the 71st minute, Messi stepped up to the spot after a foul on Agustín Giay. With the Monumental holding its breath, he blasted the ball into the top corner for his 126th Argentina goal, ensuring he was directly involved in all three of the night’s goals.