RIO DE JANEIRO, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Lionel Messi missed another chance to claim a title with Argentina at the Copa America, but the Barcelona star vowed to continue his international career anyway.
After a 2-0 defeat against their powerful opponents Brazil in the semifinal, Argentina's journey came to an lamentable end. The former FIFA World Player of The Year could do nothing but return home with his teammates.
Messi's best chance came on 57 minutes when he volleyed against the post. The 32-year-old player used to quit international football after Argentina's defeat in the 2016 Copa America Centenario final, but this time he said, "If I can still help in any way, I will continue to do so, I feel really good in this group."
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni had rearranged his squad earlier and had high anticipation despite their failure in Brazil.
He said the defeat was "unfair" claiming that Argentina picked up six bookings while Brazil only got two.
Fortunately, as the Copa America and the 2022 World Cup are approaching in the near future, Messi's yearning for a trophy could still be something within his reach.
In the semifinal, Brazilian players Gabriel Jesus and Roberto Firmino scored the two goals for the hosts.
