Mascherano retires from Argentina duty following elimination

Javier Mascherano, the most-capped player in the history of Argentinian football with 147 appearances, has retired from the international game aged 34.

He announced his decision in the wake of Saturday's World Cup elimination to France in the round of 16.

"It's time to say goodbye. It's time to support from outside," he said, according to Indy Football. "I hope that in the future these boys can achieve something."

Mascherano put together a much-improved performance for Argentina against France, four days after a difficult showing in a slender Group D win over Nigeria. Following the prior outing's 3-0 bashing from Croatia, it was widely rumoured that Mascherano and Lionel Messi had taken control of team selection and tactics from manager Jorge Sampaoli.

In the 4-3 defeat to France, Mascherano snapped in with three tackles and two interceptions in the middle of the park. His dwindling physical traits were evident, however, as he committed four fouls, often due to arriving late to challenges.

Mascherano finishes his Argentina career with four more caps than Javier Zanetti, who shared 143 national team outings with the Hebei China Fortune veteran before the tournament in Russia began. Mascherano was a runner-up in one World Cup and four Copa Americas for Argentina, but collected gold medals at the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games.