Messi fails again with Argentina’s national team

SANTIAGO — Lionel Messi has come up short again in his attempt to succeed with Argentina’s national team.

Messi looked nothing like the star that he is with Barcelona on Saturday and Argentina lost the Copa America final to Chile 4-1 on penalties, extending its 22-year title drought.

The four-time world player of the year scored his team’s lone goal in the penalty shoot-out, but had a lacklustre performance in regulation and extra time, failing to spark his teammates to victory.

Saturday’s disappointment comes less than a year since he also failed to lead Argentina to victory in the World Cup final and will ignite even more criticism by those who say Messi doesn’t play as well with the national team as he does with his club.

Messi helped Argentina win the Under-20 World Cup in 2005, as well as the gold medal in the Beijing Games in 2008, but is yet to lead the senior team to a title.

Before the runner-up finish at last year’s World Cup in Brazil, Messi hadn’t been able to lead Argentina past the quarter-finals of football’s showcase event, with early eliminations in 2006 and 2010. He also was in the Copa America team that lost the 2007 final to Brazil and was eliminated by eventual champion Uruguay in the quarter-finals of the tournament at home in 2011.

“A result, or even a loss in a final, will not change what Messi represents to the rest of the world,” said Chile’s Argentine coach Jorge Sampaoli, adding that it was key to stop Messi and his teammates in Saturday’s final.

“If Argentina had been able to take control of the match at some point, Messi was going to make sure that we noticed why he is the best player in the world,” Sampaoli said.

Messi didn’t play well in the start of the Copa America but was improving match after match. He was coming off a remarkable performance in the 6-1 rout of Paraguay in the semifinals, when he didn’t score but helped set up five goals.

On Saturday, he made passing mistakes and several times was easily disarmed by defenders, failing to create scoring opportunities for his teammates. In the one time he made a decent run past the defence, Argentina nearly broke the deadlock just before the final whistle in regulation, but Gonzalo Higuain was not able capitalise on a dangerous cross into the area.

Argentina did not deserve to lose the Copa America final to Chile after a match in which both teams “neutralised” each other, coach Gerardo Martino said.

“In the 120 minutes, in a very high quality game where the two teams neutralised each other more than play, the one who I think should have won was Argentina,” said Martino at a press conference after the game.

Martino praised Chile, saying they were “world class” and had played well since the start of the tournament, but felt Argentina should have won the final.

The experience for Argentina had been “very positive”, said Martino, adding that he saw no need for major changes.

“In a short time we have acquired a way of playing and we’ve been pretty good, but there is room for improvement,” he said.

The next chance Messi will have to win a title with Argentina is in next year’s centennial Copa America in the United States. Before that, the 28-year-old playmaker will help his nation in qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.