In the final round of the South American region of the World Cup qualifiers, Argentina, the world ranked No. 1, fell and lost to Ecuador. Messi did not play in this game. Argentina was sent off Otamendi in the 30th minute and fought one less person for a long time. Then he gave the opponent a penalty kick. Valencia completed a fatal blow, while Argentina was unable to turn the situation around. In the end, Argentina lost 0-1 to Ecuador, causing an upset.
This is Ecuador's first defeat of Argentina in the past 10 years, and the second time in team history has defeated the defending champion of the World Cup. Argentina didn't even shoot one shot in the whole game. In the absence of Messi, Argentina lacks a way to break the deadlock in this tough battle. Obviously, if this Argentina wants to win the championship, it still needs the football king Messi, even if Messi is 38 years old.
The World Cup South America qualifiers have ended, and Argentina won the first place in the group with a huge advantage to advance to the World Cup. Messi is still the winner of the Scorer King. This is the 30th time Messi won the best scorer in his career, and fans are no longer surprised. Messi scored a total of 8 goals in 12 games. Moreover, none of these 8 goals was a penalty kick, which was very valuable. Unlike some forwards, many of the goals scored were penalty kicks. For example, Brazil's Rafinia scored 3 of 5 goals and was a penalty kick.
At the age of 38, Messi can still beat many high-value stars to win the Golden Boot, which is very valuable. Luis Dias, who is worth 70 million euros, scored 7 goals, ranking behind Messi. Rafinia, who is worth 90 million euros, scored five goals, including three penalty kicks. Lautaro, who is worth 95 million euros, scored 4 goals. Alvarez, who is worth 100 million euros, only scored 4 goals. As for Real Madrid superstar Vinicius, who is worth 170 million euros, he was defeated by Messi, and he only scored 2 goals.
Messi's current net worth is only 18 million euros, not because his ability is only worth this value, but the market's inherent bias towards the value of older players. Messi still has the unparalleled ability to change the game on his own.
