BUENOS AIRES — Nervous excitement and rowdy cheers turned into anguished groans, nailbiting tension and tears as Argentines’ hope of yet another epic comeback led by Lionel Messi in the World Cup fizzled out against Spain.

At the Cafe Relax bar in the historic centre of Buenos Aires, fans with tears in their eyes after the final whistle blew on the 1-0 defeat said what saddened them most was that it was almost certainly 39-year-old Messi’s last shot at a World Cup.

“I feel empty. Empty because of Messi, because I won’t see him in a World Cup again. This is the last one,” said Camilo Cichero, a 22-year-old architecture student who was comforting his crying friend.

“It’s not how we expected it to go. At least it gives me peace of mind knowing he’s already won everything there was to win.”

Composing himself, his friend Juan Saenz, 22, a law student, said: “This was the last of Messi … it was the very end, and it finished this way.

“I was born while Messi was playing, and this was the end of that era.”

After a scrappy World Cup run built on a series of narrow victories, Argentines were confident they could pull off a second victory in a row in the final in New Jersey.

Draped in their blue-and-white flag and donning the national football jersey, they braved an icy cold day to pack bars and public squares, fizzing with excitement at the start of the game.