https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/higuain-retires-from-argentina-national-tea
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After nearly a decade of suiting up for Argentina, Gonzalo Higuain announced t
oday that he has retired from international competition.
The 31-year-old forward, who plays his club football for Chelsea (on loan from
Juventus), leaves La Albiceleste with 31 goals scored and appearances in thre
e separate editions of the FIFA World Cup™: South Africa 2010, Brazil 2014 an
d Russia 2018. Argentina reached the 2014 World Cup Final, suffering a narrow
defeat to champions Germany in extra time.
"I think that it is over, thinking things through in depth, my time is up," Hi
guain told Fox Sports. "I want to enjoy my family and my time. You can now sto
p worrying about whether I am there or not."
El Pipita revealed that he had spoken recently with Argentina's head coach, Li
onel Scaloni, but turned down the possibility of being called into his nationa
l team.
Born in Brest, France, Higuain's father played football for a local club. When
presented with the opportunity to represent France at the end of 2006 by head
coach Raymond Domenech, Higuain declined, citing his preference to represent
Argentina.
In 2009 he made his international debut, scoring for Argentina during a vital
World Cup qualification match against Peru. La Albiceleste went on to feature
at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa under Diego Maradona.
Higuain would make 75 total appearances for Argentina, which included the thre
e World Cups and three Copa Americas. In addition to Argentina's second-place
finish at Brazil 2014, they were also runners-up at the 2015 and 2016 Copa Ame
rica.
"We lacked more belief in our game, to be more convincing," he reflected. "But
nobody is going to value the process you achieved to reach the finals. We rea
ched the final, we lost and we went back to another final. We suffered and the
n we reached another final.
"I do not know if there are many teams that have battled to reach another fina
l after all the criticism."
Higuain retires as his country's sixth-highest goalscorer ever. His strike in
the Brazil 2014 quarter-final against Belgium propelled Argentina to the last-
four of the World Cup for the first time in 24 years.
"When one is criticised badly, everyone hurts," Higuain said. "I have enjoyed
the national team. People remember what you miss, not what you put in. Everyon
e who criticised the mistakes also celebrated that goal against Belgium."
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