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No more Cup play for Messi

Sports at a glance

By The Associated Press 2 min read
FILE - Argentina's Lionel Messi cries at the end of the World Cup final soccer match with Spain in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough, File)

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- Argentina superstar Lionel Messi announced his retirement from international soccer on Monday, ending 21 years of national-team duty that were capped by winning the World Cup in 2022 to secure his place in the pantheon of the game's greatest ever players.

Messi, who will continue to play at club level with Inter Miami in Major League Soccer, played in a record-tying six World Cups. He won it four years ago in a tournament he dominated in Qatar and also led Argentina to the title match in 2014 and again this year, when the Albiceleste lost to Spain in extra time in New Jersey.

Messi, 39, played 207 games for Argentina and finishes as its all-time leading scorer with 125 goals, 21 of them in World Cups. Only one player has more goals in men's internationals -- his long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who has 146 and has yet to announce his retirement from Portugal duty.

Volunteers to honor Parton

The Tennessee Volunteers will honor Dolly Parton with a helmet sticker this season, coach Josh Heupel announced on Monday.

Parton, a Tennessee native, died on Tuesday, Aug. 25, after a brief battle with cancer. She was 80.

The iconic singer , who was one of 12 children, grew up in Sevierville, roughly 30 miles east of Knoxville, where the University of Tennessee is located.

The sticker, in the Volunteers' signature orange, features a butterfly similar to the one in the Dollywood logo, with "Dolly" written in white at the center.

Tennessee, ranked No. 20 in the AP Top 25 preseason poll, hosts Furman in its season-opener on Saturday.

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