Nicolas Otamendi confirms retirement from international football after World Cup final loss

[p]The ‌38-year-old centre back made 139 appearances ‌for his country and was part of the squad that reached ‌this year's World Cup final ⁠in ‌the United States, in which the defending ​champions [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/argentina-f9OppQjp/spain-bLyo6mco/?mid=UgbUKPmT"]were beaten 1-0[/a] by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/spain/bLyo6mco/"]Spain[/a].[/p][p]"[b]Today I have to ​write the most difficult words of my career,[/b]" [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/otamendi-nicolas/KSBVnX8R/"]Otamendi[/a] posted on ⁠Instagram. "[b]As fate ​would have it, my last match was a World Cup final. It wasn't the result we ‌wanted, but I'm leaving with my head held high, knowing that this team gave it their all right up to the very last second.[/b][/p][p]"[b]Thank you, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/argentina/f9OppQjp/"]Argentina[/a], for allowing me to fulfil the dream of becoming a world ‌champion.[/b]"[/p][embed guid="f0092d95-f408-43f5-8538-30ba379f4c31" url="https://x.com/FabrizioRomano/status/2080410133188763654?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]Otamendi recently joined Argentine [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/river-plate/EVqSBe2f/"]giants River ​Plate[/a] after ending a successful ‌16-year spell in Europe, where he played for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/fc-porto/S2NmScGp/"]Porto[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/valencia/CQeaytrD/"]Valencia[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/manchester-city/Wtn9Stg0/"]Manchester City[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/benfica/zBkyuyRI/"]Benfica[/a].[/p][p]He represented his country at four World ⁠Cups.[/p]