Lionel Messi Scores 109th International Goal to Help Lead Argentina to Copa America Final

Lionel Messi helps lead Argentina to the brink of soccer history…

The 37-year-old Argentine soccer star scored his 109th international goal to help Argentina seal a 2-0 victory over Canada and earn a berth in this weekend’s Copa America final.

In the process, Argentina moved within one win of joining Spain as the only nations to win three straight major titles.

“It’s insane what this team has done, what the Argentina national team is doing,” Messi said Tuesday night. “For those who remain from the old guard, it’s beyond impressive that the national team is in another final.”

Julián Álvarez put the Albiceleste ahead in the 22nd minute, controlling a long pass from Rodrigo De Paul, taking two touches to get away from Moïse Bombito and slipping the ball through the legs of goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau for his ninth international goal.

Messi redirected Enzo Fernández’s shot following a poor Ismaël Koné clearance in off the face of Crépeau from 4 yards in the 51st for his first goal of the tournament.

Messi has 28 goals in his last 25 matches for Argentina and 14 in Copa America play, three shy of the record. He has scored against 38 different nations.

“I wasn’t sure if Enzo’s ball was going to get in,” Messi said. “It was a reflex.”

Only Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo with 130 has more international goals than Messi, who turned 37 on June 24. Iran’s Ali Daei had 108 or 109 from 1993 to 2006, with a lingering dispute over whether a goal against Ecuador in 2000 occurred in a full international match.

With a victory on its independence day, Argentina extended its unbeaten streak to 10 games. The Albiceleste seek a record 16th Copa title when they play Uruguay or Colombia on Sunday at Miami Gardens, Florida.

“We have to enjoy every moment of what we’re are living,” Messi said. “I’m conscious that these are the last battles.”

Trying to string together Copa America titles around the 2022 World Cup championship, Argentina hopes to match Spain’s feat of winning the 2008 and 2012 European Championships along with the 2010 World Cup.

“These are statistics. I’m not really interested about it,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said through a translator. “The most important thing is to win.”

Making his 38th Copa America appearance, Messi had missed Argentina’s group stage finale with a leg injury and was subdued while playing 90 minutes in the quarterfinal win over Ecuador. He was much more agile and shot just wide in the 12th and 44th minutes.

Messi had 45 touches and a 79% pass success rate.

“They make us pay on small details,” Crépeau said.

Jesús Navas Signs Lifetime Contract with Sevilla FC

Jesús Navas is Sevilla por vida

The 38-year-old Spanish professional footballer and Sevilla FC captain has signed a lifetime contract with the club, the LaLiga side said on Saturday, just days after announcing he’d be leaving at the end of the season.

Jesús NavasNavas is Sevilla’s record appearance holder, having played for the club for 17 seasons over two different spells, winning eight trophies.

The right-back published an open letter on Friday saying he’d taken the “painful” decision to leave his boyhood club, having received “not one phone call” offering him a new contract, with his deal set to expire this summer.

“I’ve always been told that I could stay here as long as I wanted, but nobody has dispelled my doubts as to whether that call confirming that I’m staying would come at the end of the season,” Navas said. “People have said that I’ve leaving for a better offer, but I don’t have a team [for next season] yet because I want to focus on my country [at the Euros].”

Sevilla president Jose Maria del Nido Carrasco held a news conference on Saturday to contest that version of events, blaming a “misunderstanding.”

del Nido said he “loved, respected and admired” Navas, calling him “the club’s greatest legend.”

“I don’t want to start any conflict with him, either publicly or privately,” del Nido said. “But neither can I let the history books read that Jesus won’t stay because Sevilla don’t want him to. It has all been a misunderstanding, for which I take responsibility, because I know that Jesus is hurting.”

del Nido insisted that he’d discussed future plans with the player on more than one occasion, saying he was in a “state of shock” after being told of Navas’ decision on Thursday.

“If we are able to sit down with [Navas] and talk things through, hopefully we can amend the situation,” Del Nido said. “I would like to offer him a lifetime contract, so that he can continue to play here for as long as he wants.”

Later on Saturday, Sevilla said that Navas had “signed a lifetime contract.”

“The player and the president have come to an agreement for him to extend his playing contract until 31 December 2024, before taking on a role inside the club,” a statement said.

“I didn’t doubt for a second about saying yes to the president’s proposal,” Navas said, in a social media post. “I want to keep playing for Sevilla… My desire is to keep playing until December, in a transition to help the team.”

“One more thing, in these last months as a professional, I won’t receive pay. The salary agreed with the president will go to charity.”

Navas made his debut for Sevilla in 2003 and starred for a decade before joining Manchester City. He returned to his hometown club in 2017 after four years in the Premier League, going on to become club captain and having the training ground’s stadium named after him.

He was part of the Spain squad that won the 2010 World Cup, and the 2012 European Championships.