Lionel Messi has said he is to retire from international football after Argentina were beaten 4-2 by Chile on penalties in the final of the Copa America on Sunday.

"It's tough, it's not the time for analysis," he was quoted as saying on the Argentine national team's Twitter feed. "In the dressing room I thought that the national team was over, it's not for me."

"It's been four finals, it's not meant for me. I tried. It was the thing I wanted the most, but I couldn't get it, so I think it's over."

 

 The 29-year-old retires having scored 55 goals in 113 appearances for Argentina. He set a new record at the Copa America by surpassing Gabriel Batistuta's 54 goals.

Messi missed a penalty in the shoot-out as Chile won back-to-back Copa Americas. He will not be the only player to quit Argentina

Messi's apparent last act in international football was to blast his penalty over the bar as Chile won the Copa America for the second successive year following a 4-2 penalty shootout victory over Argentina on Sunday.

Aguero: Others could follow

 Messi will not be the only player to quit international duty, according to striker Sergio Aguero. Already there is speculation that midfielder Javier Mascherano will hang up his boots too.

"Messi probably won't be the only player to leave the national team," said Aguero. "There are various players who are considering quitting. This is the worst I've seen the dressing room. Worse than after the other two finals [the 2014 World Cup and 2015 Copa America]."

Coach Martino: It hurts

This was the second successive year Chile had beaten Argentina on penalties in the final. Last year's Copa America title was their first.

"It's not easy to explain what happened," said Argentina coach Gerardo Martino. "Argentina should have won that game. It hurts."

The tension of the penalty shootout barely made up for a disappointing game with few memorable moments for the announced sellout 82,000 crowd. The bulk of first-half action involved referee Heber Lopes, who sent off Chile's Marcelo Diaz on 27 minutes for a second crude challenge on Messi, before Argentina's Marcos Rojo was given a straight red for a rough tackle on Vidal about 15 minutes later.

Three others were booked, including Messi for diving, in a first half that had as many cards as shots on goal. The second half provided more of the same and although Chile, who have never beaten Argentina in open play in 26 previous Copa America encounters, at least managed to call Romero into action, neither side created any clear cut chances.

The 30 minutes of extra time was similar, though Vargas came close for Chile and substitute Sergio Aguero had a header tipped over by Claudio Bravo. Messi, who surpassed Gabriel Batistuta as Argentina's top scorer in the semi-final against the United States, was heavily marked and had few chances to show his brilliance.

The tournament was played in the U.S. for the first time to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the inaugural competition and expanded to include six teams from North and Central America along with the 10 from South America.

 

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