Could Lionel Messi copy Cristiano Ronaldo and play another tournament at 39? As Argentina dug deep to beat Canada at the Copa America, this was not the look of a man eyeing the end

In the end, all Jesse Marsch could do was laugh.

“It’s terrible, but it’s amazing,” the Canadian coach said after Lionel Messi left his game plan in shambles on the opening night of the Copa America. ‘He’s so good. The two shots he makes on the two goals are simply world class.’

But for all the nights the Argentine star has had in his storied career with games being handed out at his mercy, there were plenty of signs that this one wasn’t going his way.

Canada made Argentina work hard on a newly constructed field that both teams struggled with in Atlanta, and Canada should have gone into halftime with a lead.

Even on his best days, Messi likes to watch parts of the matches unfold from the periphery of the game, but there were moments in the first 45 when he almost seemed a little too quiet.

Messi had to dig deep during a match where Argentina struggled to play their best football

“We talked about compactness and the spaces that Messi likes to show,” Marsch said. ‘We talked about not going into it because it’s difficult to win tackles from him and he’s very good at slipping, moving and making final plays. And he still makes two…’

Marsch chuckled at the irony of talking about stopping the man who took the game away from him.

Messi’s 20-yard through ball to Alexis Mac Allister for Argentina’s opener four minutes after half-time was extraordinary: enough speed to find the point, but slower at the end to draw the Canadian goalkeeper off his line and the defense out of shape to pull.

Mac Allister grabbed one for the team when the keeper collided with him before Julian Alvarez converted.

For the second, the match had started in the 88th minute as Canada hunted for an equalizer and Messi had space and time to tee up Lautaro Martinez with another beautifully timed pass before the substitute did the rest.

The fact that he was on the field at all shows how important he still is in the twilight of his international career.

But is this definitely the end?

Messi turns 37 on Monday and expects this Copa America to be his last international tournament. Yet there was a time when he said the World Cup in Qatar would also be his last. And here we are.

Messi struggled with an injury late on, but came back to help score the second goal

Messi, who turns 37 on Monday, will have been frustrated at having missed some big chances

There is inevitably half an eye on the 2026 World Cup here in the United States, the place where in just 12 months with Inter Miami he has undoubtedly taken interest in the game to a new level – and where Argentina will defend the title that he led them. Unpleasant.

A bridge too far? Or could he be looking at Europe right now, where his old rival Cristiano Ronaldo is leading Portugal at the age of 39 in the 2024 European Championship, and wondering what could happen.

Two more years is a long time at 37, but Messi is carefully managing his minutes in Miami and making sure that when his country needs him, he is there.

And that fire still burns inside. This is a man who is still ready for battle.

With Canada seemingly tireless on the ball, you would have understood if Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni thought the final 20 minutes were time for a more defensive player. Take the 1-0 and get out of there.

But there was Messi, driving through the center of the pitch to make it safe in the final moments of the match. Just moments earlier, he had been nervous for a few minutes after receiving a nasty blow to his right ankle from Moise Bombito. He needed treatment and seemed to be in pain, but kept going.

He had also missed a couple of glorious chances to make it safe for Argentina earlier and if he had done so he might have been able to rest for the final 15 minutes. He will regret those mistakes; he definitely should have scored.

But even without his shooting boots, he showed the ball, moved it further, took the hit in the tackle, got back up and ultimately achieved victory.

“It was physically intense,” Messi admitted after what was a record 35th Copa America in the tournament. ‘We struggled a bit in the first half and the pitch didn’t help. We will always do our best, sometimes play better, sometimes worse, but always give our best.”

Messi has hinted this could be his last tournament, but Cristiano Ronaldo is playing at the age of 39

Next up for Messi and Argentina is a tough second match against Chile on Monday

He has said that ‘as long as I feel I can help, I will’ for Argentina. It’s a humble statement: he’s still at the heart of everything this team does.

Then, a day after the birthday celebrations, Messi and Argentina have a tougher test in store against Chile.

How his body holds up to the demands of a tournament will be a crucial early indicator for years to come. But with plenty of reasons why it wouldn’t be his night, he made it happen.

Don’t count on this being the end just yet.