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The FIFA World Cup in Russia was astonishing, and ended with France lifting the trophy for the second time. However, the fans saw several surprising results this time, with many big teams being eliminated early in the tournament. For instance, two times World Champions Argentina was eliminated early in the tournament. The South American country were knocked out by France in the round of 16 and Lionel Messi's dream of winning the World Cup was shattered.
The five-times Ballon d'Or winner Messi already retired from international duty once in 2016 after losing the Copa America final. So, it will be interesting to see the decision of the Barcelona forward. Messi is 31 years old and he can still play the next FIFA World Cup in Qatar if he stays fit and scores goals.
As a matter of fact, the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) is sceptical about the future of star Argentine player. Messi is one of the best players ever to play the game, and he is also Argentina's all-time top goal scorer with 64 goals. Thus, it will be an immense loss for Argentina if Messi decides to quit the national team.
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AFA president Claudio Tapia is positive that Messi will continue to lead Argentina in the future. Meanwhile, the fans were quite disappointed after a dismal performance of Argentina in the World Cup. In 2014 World Cup, Messi led Argentina to final and he won the Golden Ball award. However, this time he could not replicate that performance.
Therefore, Messi was under criticism this time for a substandard show. He scored just one goal in the tournament and missed an important penalty against Iceland. At the group stage of the World Cup, Croatia crushed Messi's Argentina by 3-0 and in the round of 16, France eliminated Argentina after a 4-3 win.
Currently, Messi is eager for a new season with Barcelona. Consequently, it is completely on him if he will continue his duty with Argentina and chase his dream to win the World Cup in Qatar in four years' time.
