(Reuters) – Argentina captain Lionel Messi hopes forward Angel Di Maria ends his international career with a goal in Sunday’s Copa America final against Colombia.
Di Maria, 36, announced in November his plans to retire from internationals after representing his country for 15 years and Messi wants him to get his name on the scoresheet as he did against Brazil to clinch the continental title in 2021 and against France as they won the 2022 World Cup final.
“Who knows, maybe he’ll score another goal in the final like he did in all the previous ones he’s played in. It would be extraordinary,” Messi said in an interview with Direct TV Sports on Saturday, adding that the team still hopes he will reverse his decision.
“We always tell him that if everything goes well, we have playoff games coming up. Nevertheless, ‘Fideo’ (Di Maria) has made up his mind and there’s nothing that can change it.”
Di Maria has scored 31 goals in 144 appearances for Argentina, having played in six Copa Americas and four World Cups.
He also struck the winner in Argentina’s 1-0 victory over Nigeria to win Olympic gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
(This story has been corrected the change the date of retirement announcement in paragraph 2)
(Reporting by Angelica Medina in Mexico City; Editing by Toby Davis)
