Having barred Messi from playing for
Argentina in the
2008 Olympics,
[212] Barcelona agreed to release him after he held talks with newly appointed coach
Pep Guardiola.
[213] He joined the Argentina squad and scored the first goal in a 2–1 victory over
Ivory Coast.
[213] He then scored the opening goal and assisted
Ángel di María in the second to help his side to a 2–1 extra-time win against the
Netherlands.
[214] He also featured in Argentina's match against rivals
Brazil,
in which Argentina took a 3–0 victory, thus advancing to the final. In
the gold medal match, Messi again assisted Di María for the only goal in
a 1–0 victory over
Nigeria.
[215]
2010 World Cup
For the 2010 World Cup, Messi wore the number 10 shirt for the first time in a major tournament.
[216] Messi played the entire game on
Argentina's opening match in the
2010 World Cup, the 1–0 victory against
Nigeria. He had several opportunities to score but was repeatedly denied by
Vincent Enyeama.
[217] Messi started in Argentina's following 4–1 win against
Korea Republic; he played in more of an attacking midfielder and playmaking role under Maradona,
[216][218][219] and participated in all of the goals of his team, helping
Gonzalo Higuaín score a
hat-trick.
[220] On the third and last group stage match Messi captained during Argentina's 2–0 win over
Greece, again being the centrepoint of Argentina's play and was voted
man of the match.
[221]
At the
Round of 16 he assisted
Carlos Tévez for the first goal in a 3–1 win against
Mexico. The World Cup ended for Argentina with a 4–0 loss against
Germany in the quarter-finals.
[222]
Messi was nominated in ten player shortlist for
Golden Ball award by FIFA Technical Study Group. The group identified Messi with words: "
Outstanding in his pace and creativity for his team, dribbling, shooting, passing – spectacular and efficient".
[223]
2011 Copa América
Messi took part in the
Copa América in Argentina, where he failed to score a goal but notched three assists. He was selected man-of-the-match in matches against
Bolivia (1–1) and
Costa Rica (3–0). Argentina were eliminated in the quarter-finals in a
penalty shoot-out against
Uruguay (1–1
a.e.t.), with Messi scoring as the first penalty taker.
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