Lionel Messi on Monday called time on his Argentina career, closing a chapter that included a World Cup winner’s medal, six World Cups and 125 international goals. Along the way he met Nigeria four times at senior level, and Argentina won every one of those games.
Their first senior clash came at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, a 1-0 Argentina win in Johannesburg. They met again in a friendly in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in September 2011. Argentina took that one 3-1. Messi played but did not score.
He finally found the Super Eagles net at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. In the last Group F fixture in Porto Alegre, Argentina edged a 3-2 thriller. Messi struck inside the opening minutes, Ahmed Musa levelled, then Messi curled in a free kick just before the break. Musa scored again after half time, but Marcos Rojo’s deflected finish decided it. That night Messi had two of his three career goals against Nigeria.
The third arrived four years later at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Argentina beat the Super Eagles 2-1 in Saint Petersburg. Messi opened the scoring in the first half, Victor Moses equalised from the spot, and Rojo again finished late to send Argentina through and send Nigeria home. That was Messi’s last senior outing against the Super Eagles. Across four senior meetings he scored three times, and Argentina never dropped a point.
The link with Nigeria goes further back. In 2005, at the FIFA U-20 World Youth Championship in the Netherlands, Argentina faced the Flying Eagles in the final on 2 July. Messi converted two penalties as Argentina won 2-1. FIFA later called that tournament the moment he first announced himself to the world.
Zoyols News notes that for Nigerian fans those World Cup nights, especially Porto Alegre and Saint Petersburg, remain the clearest memories of Messi at their expense.
