Messi and Tapia repeat their mate ritual ahead of the World Cup qualifiers | OneFootball

The day nobody wanted to arrive is finally knocking at the door. Lionel Messi begins his farewell from the Argentine National Team tonight at 8:30 PM at the Monumental Stadium, when he plays his last World Cup Qualifier match against Venezuela. As before every match, the ritual with Claudio Tapia and Rodrigo de Paul was not missed; this time, they called it “the sacred mate.”

At the AFA’s Ezeiza complex, the three sat in the same spots they have respected since the 2021 Copa América; after the team’s first glory under Lionel Scaloni, they have not stopped posting the same photo. Now, it has a special meaning and, possibly, Messi will appear alone only a few more times.

“The sacred mate, a historic trident. Family you choose,” wrote the president of the Argentine Football Association. Smiling, with the thermos wrapped in the Albiceleste colors, they shared one of the last moments with the captain present.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.