Lionel Messi had a disastrous debut for Argentina in 2005. Just 40 seconds after entering the field, Messi received a red card.

Lionel Messi is on the journey to make history by helping Argentina enter the 2022 World Cup Gold Cup with France.

The competition between South American representatives and European representatives will take place at 10 pm on December 18, on the national day of host country Qatar.

On the eve of the dream World Cup final, people suddenly remembered Lionel Messi’s disastrous debut for Argentina in 2005.

 

That’s because 17 years ago, superstar Messi was sent off the field after just 40 seconds of his first appearance for Argentina.

Messi was only 18 years old at the time and had the opportunity to shine in the Argentina – Hungary friendly match in Budapest on August 17, 2005. In the 63rd minute, Messi was brought onto the field to replace Lisandro Lopez.

However, just 40 seconds after entering the field, Messi received a direct red card for swinging his hand in the face of Vilms Vanczak on the Hungarian side. Players from both sides surrounded the referee as slow-motion footage showed that Messi was not malicious and the impact was not too strong.

However, this was a time when there was no VAR, meaning the referee did not have the opportunity to witness the incident with his own eyes to make the most accurate and fair decision.

Judging that Messi’s actions were intentional, the star currently playing for PSG received a direct red card.

It was reported that teammates discovered Messi “crying” in the locker room after the match. Perhaps, that became a thing of the past when Messi then became more and more explosive and played for Argentina a total of 194 matches.

Messi has also scored 112 goals for his country and helped the Tango dancers win the Copa America championship last year.

Messi is currently hoping to have the historic World Cup Gold Cup to add to his massive trophy collection. The Argentine legend declared that this was his last World Cup and that the World Cup Gold Cup was also the only title he was missing.

Argentina meets France in the final match in Qatar and if Messi is present, he will go down in history as the person with the most appearances at the World Cup with 26 times, 1 more than German football legend Lothar. Matthaus.