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International career

As a dual Argentine-Spanish national, Messi was eligible to play for the national team of both countries. He debuted for Argentina in 2004 for Argentina's U20 team against Paraguay, and was subsequently included in the squad for the 2005 South American U-20 Championship, where they would finish third. Messi would then lead the team to victory in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship, his first success with Argentina. Finishing the tournament with six goals and two assists, he would also win the Golden Ball.

He would make his debut with the senior national team in 2005, at age 18, coming off the bench friendly against Hungary. Messi would have his first start in 2006 against Peru, and score his first international goal in a friendly against Croatia. His World Cup debut came in the 2006 FIFA World Cup as a substitute in the 74th minute against Serbia and Montenegro, scoring the final goal in their victory. This made him the youngest player to represent and score for Argentina in the World Cup. He would represent Argentina again for the 2007 Copa América, where they would ultimately lose in the final. Messi was named the best young player of the tournament, having scored two goals and provided one assist. The 2008 Summer Olympics would mark another major achievement with his country, as he led Argentina's U23 team to claim the Olympic gold medal over Nigeria. Messi registered two goals and three assists throughout, and was singled out by FIFA as the stand-out player from the tournament's best team.

With the international retirement of Juan Román Riquelme, Messi was given Argentina's number 10 shirt. During a 2010 FIFA World Cup group stage match against Greece, where a majority of the starters rested due to a secured place in the knockout rounds, Messi would wear the captain's armband for the first time. Argentina were ultimately eliminated in the quarterfinals against Germany during that tournament, but Messi was identified as one of the tournament's 10 best players due to his pace and creativity, despite failing to register a single goal and only having one assist. The appointment of Sergio Batista ahead of the 2011 Copa America resulted in Argentina now building their team around Messi. However, Messi would again be goalless during the tournament but had three assists. The team would ultimately lose to Uruguay in penalties during the quarter-finals. Following their unsuccessful performance, Batista was replaced by Alejandro Sabella, who awarded 24-year-old Messi the captaincy of the squad.

The next several years saw many frustrations for Messi due to his inability to captain Argentina to an international trophy. During the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Messi and Argentina lost to Germany the final, though Messi was awarded the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament regardless due to his overall performance with four goals and an assist. Argentina would lose to Chile on penalties in the 2015 Copa América final the next year. At the close of the tournament, Messi, was reportedly selected to receive the Golden Ball award, having scored one goal and provided three assists, but rejected the honour. In the 2016 Copa América Centenario semi-final against the United States, a goal from Messi would put him ahead of Gabriel Batistuta as Argentina's all-time leading goalscorer in international matches. However, Argentina would again fall to Chile on penalties in the final. Messi would have five goals and four assists throughout the tournament.

Losing three consecutive finals in three consecutive years caused Messi to briefly retire from international football, but a fan campaign in Argentina convinced him to reverse his decision. He would return to the national team to lead them to the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Argentina were in jeopardy of missing the tournament on the last game of the qualifiers, but a hat-trick from Messi against Ecuador secured their entry. They would go on to lose to France in the Round of 16 during the World Cup, with Messi having one goal and two assists in the tournament. The next year, under new head coach Lionel Scaloni, Messi would again represent Argentina in the 2019 Copa América, where he registered only a single goal and assist. They would lose to hosts Brazil in the semi-final but ended with a third place finish after defeating Chile.

Messi would finally end Argentina's 28-year trophy drought in the 2021 Copa América, as they had not won an international tournament since 1993. Argentina defeated Brazil in the final; Messi was directly involved in nine out of the 12 goals scored by Argentina, scoring four and assisting five, and was named the player of the tournament. He captained Argentina to win another international trophy in the 2022 Finalissima against UEFA Euro 2020 winners Italy, where he was named player of the match after providing three assists. At the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Messi led Argentina to its first World Cup victory in 36 years, defeating France during the final. He became the first player to score in every stage of the World Cup, having scored seven total with three assists, and also the first to win the Golden Ball for the tournament twice. With his appearance in the final, Messi set new records as the player with the most appearances at the World Cup (26) and most direct goal contributions at the World Cup (21 – 13 goals and 8 assists). He also set the record for most goals for Argentina in a calendar year with 18.

A hat-trick in a 2023 friendly against Curaçao saw Messi reach 100 international goals; he became the third player and the first South American in history to achieve this milestone. Later that year, a goal against Peru during a World Cup qualifier saw Messi become the all-time top goalscorer in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers. His start in the 2024 Copa América opening game against Canada marked a new record for most appearances in tournament (35). A goal Messi scored in the semi-final, again against Canada, marked his first and only goal of the tournament while also making him the second-highest international goalscorer of all time. Argentina eventually won the final against Colombia, setting Messi with 39 total appearances in the tournament, while also marking Argentina's second consecutive Copa América win and third consecutive international tournament title with Messi as captain.