My buddy Tim and I flew to Buenos Aires, Argentina, with the hope of seeing a pair of Argentinian soccer, er, futbol matches as part of Event No. 24 of my Around the World in 80 Sporting Events project.
We’d secured tickets prior to leaving the U.S. for the River Plate–San Martin match that occurred on Sunday. It was an absolutely fabulous experience and the host River Plate squad, in front of nearly 80,000 home fans at their historic Estadio Mas Monumental, won the match, 2-0, with both markers coming on our end of the pitch.
What we did not have tickets for before leaving, was the final home World Cup Qualifying match for the Argentinian national team. That match is Thursday night against Venezuela, also in Monumental. That match is significant because most folks in the know believe it will be Lionel Messi‘s final competitive home match for the national team before he retires following World Cup 2026.
Tim and I received word we’d have a ticket and the manner in which to pick it up. (On a street corner, cash, and tickets exchanged; the whole thing seemed fairly seedy until the person with the ticket agreed to give us a lift back to where we were staying.)
So, we now wait for another day to witness this historic match. I’m left to wonder how loud the crowd will be for Messi has he’s introduced and, presumably, pulled from the game at some point in the second half.