El Monumental in Buenos Aires was packed to the rafters to see what according to the man himself, was Lionel Messi’s final South American qualifier in Argentina, and by proxy, likely his final competitive appearance on home soil. It was an emotional night for the diminutive star, who crowned the occasion with a brace on his way to a win.
The 38-year-old Inter Miami star started alongside Julian Alvarez in his 193rd appearance for his country. A dominant Argentina kept Venezuela on the back foot in the opening stages, but could not break the deadlock in the early going, despite some bright sparks from Atletico Madrid’s Thiago Almada.
Lionel Messi opens scoring for Argentina
It was just six minutes before half-time when they did so, and naturally, it couldn’t be anyone else but Messi who did it. Alvarez could well have grabbed the opener himself after going one-on-one following a fine pass from Leandro Paredes, but he passed the responsibility onto Messi, who lifted the ball into the net past the defenders.
Lionel Messi was always going to score! 🐐
A beautiful dinked finish after unselfish play by Julian Alvarez to give Argentina the lead 🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/ovgwknUlxb
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) September 5, 2025
⚽️ @Argentina 🇦🇷 1 – #Venezuela 🇻🇪 0
📽 El gol del mejor de todos.#TodosJuntos 🙌pic.twitter.com/JOU9x8X3ad
— 🇦🇷 Selección Argentina ⭐⭐⭐ (@Argentina) September 5, 2025
It was not until late in the second half that the Albiceleste made the game safe though, with Lautaro Martinez converting a cross from new Atletico Madrid signing Nicolas Gonzalez.
⚽️ @Argentina 🇦🇷 2 – #Venezuela 🇻🇪 0
📽 Instantes para festejar: Lautaro y otra funciónpic.twitter.com/e2vshr2kGO
— 🇦🇷 Selección Argentina ⭐⭐⭐ (@Argentina) September 5, 2025
LA NOCHE DE MESSI.
🇦🇷⚔️🇻🇪 Así fue el partido entre Argentina y Venezuela. #EliminatoriasSudamericanas pic.twitter.com/TaswJY2P5Z
— Fútbol en Movistar Plus+ (@MovistarFutbol) September 5, 2025
Messi adds the icing on the cake
The game was destined to end in another Messi moment though, with Almada this time playing provider. He came down the right and with a pinpoint pass found Messi free in the box, where the Inter Miami star made no mistake with the finish.
⚽️ @Argentina 🇦🇷 3 – #Venezuela 🇻🇪 0
Disfruten del show del 🔟. Gracias por ser nuestro 🐐pic.twitter.com/sLkx3fV4l1
— 🇦🇷 Selección Argentina ⭐⭐⭐ (@Argentina) September 5, 2025
In front of an adoring crowd, Messi’s name rang out on a momentous evening for the legendary number 10. He is not due to travel to Argentina with the squad for their second clash against Ecuador this weekend, instead returning to Miami.

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