Lionel Messi's Worst Gift to Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo's from Luanda

LUANDA, FRIDAY — Lionel Messi affirmed that he still possesses a "hunger" to play with the Argentine national team. Playing at the 11 November Stadium in Luanda, Angola, on Friday (14/11/2025), Messi was both the driving force and the main entertainment, concluding the match calendar for "La Albiceleste" in 2025 with a 2-0 victory over Angola.

Certainly, there is a reason why the Government of Angola and the Angolan Football Federation (FAF) are willing to invest a significant amount of money to bring Argentina. According to several reports in local media, the FAF, supported by the government, is prepared to pay Argentina approximately 12 million US dollars or around 200 billion rupiah to play a friendly match in celebration of the 50th anniversary of independence.

Angola is a former Portuguese colony. It only gained independence on November 11, 1975, and was able to establish its own government.

After leaving Kendal Portugal for five decades, Angola brought in the Argentina national team. Not only are they the champions of the 2022 World Cup, but Argentina also boasts Messi, who is the eternal rival of the Portuguese icon, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Unlike his visit to Indonesia in June 2023, Argentina's coach Lionel Scaloni also included captain Messi. The Inter Miami player started the match from the kickoff.

Scaloni does not underestimate Angola, which is ranked 89th in the FIFA rankings. In the preliminary round of the 2026 World Cup in the African zone, Angola has already been eliminated in the first round.

In front of approximately 50,000 supporters who attended with an average ticket price of only 1 US dollar (Rp 16,705), Messi became the architect of La Albiceleste's double goals. He provided an assist for Lautaro Martinez's goal in the 43rd minute. Then, Messi marked his name on the scoreboard in the 82nd minute.

Seeing Messi conquer the substitute goalkeeper, Neblu, all the supporters of Angola stood up and gave a resounding applause. They seemed to forget that Messi had scored a goal against their home team.

Approximately four minutes after scoring the decisive goal for his team, Messi was substituted for Joaquin Panicelli. The chants of "Messi, Messi, Messi" echoed in the stadium, creating a roar that the Angolan public had never experienced before.

Messi's performance in Luanda once again demonstrated Argentina's dignity compared to Portugal, which introduced football to Angola. Messi and Argentina played the final game in 2025 and have already qualified for the 2026 World Cup.

The former ruling country of Angola, Portugal, must concede that their step onto the world stage has been postponed due to a 0-2 defeat against Ireland, Thursday (13/11/2025) yesterday.

Moreover, Ronaldo has become a topic of conversation due to his emotional actions that resulted in a direct red card. The player nicknamed "CR7" will miss Portugal's final game in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Armenia, and he may also not participate in the opening match of the "Selecao das Quinas" in next year's World Cup.

"Facing a team we don't know anything about, like Angola, always teaches us a lesson. It was a good test, although we should have played better," Scaloni said after the match, as reported by TyC Sports.

In addition to his key players, such as Messi, Martinez, Alexis Mac Allister, Rodrigo de Paul, and Cristian Romero, Scaloni also provided debut matches for four players. They are Kevin Mac Allister, Alexis's brother, followed by Maximo Perrone, Gianluca Prestiani, and Panichelli. Scaloni has given debut opportunities in the La Albiceleste jersey to 59 players.

"We always strive to play the game with our best strength. We are also very grateful for the extraordinary welcome from the people here (Angola)," said Scaloni, who also serves as the Technical Director of the Argentine Football Association (AFA).

For Messi, the goal in Luanda was his first goal on the African continent. Perhaps, it will also be his last goal in a continent known for its naturally talented players with speed and physical resilience.

Messi has scored 115 goals for La Albiceleste. He is the highest goal scorer for the Argentina national team during the Scaloni era, with a total of 50 goals.

Overall, Messi has scored 895 goals and provided 401 assists in his career, which has spanned more than 20 years. He has accumulated a total of 1,286 goal contributions, thus needing only four more contributions to reach 1,300.

After the match, Messi did not forget to upload a post on his personal Instagram account. A photo of the main squad of Argentina in Luanda became the featured image.

"Proud to continue representing my country and defending the blue and white," said Messi, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner, in the caption of the post. (AFP/AP)