his first goal for the club in a Chinese FA Cup match against Shandong Luneng Taishan on 2 May 2018. Estudiantes On 23 November 2019, it was announced that Mascherano would be joining Argentine club Estudiantes in January 2020 on a free transfer. He made his official debut in a league match against San Lorenzo on 25 January 2020, which ended in a 1–1 draw. On 15 November 2020, Mascherano announced his retirement as a professional footballer. International career Mascherano’s first international appearance came in 2001. September of that year saw him play on the Argentina team that finished fourth in the 2001 FIFA U-17 World Championship. In June 2003 he played in the Toulon Tournament, where he was named the best player of the competition as Argentina under-20 finished 3rd. Mascherano's impact at youth levels was such that he made his senior international debut before playing a single minute for River Plate's first team (due to his central midfield position at club level being occupied by River’s long standing captain Leonardo Astrada, nicknamed the Chief). That international debut came in a friendly against Uruguay on 16 July 2003. Halfway through the 2003–04 Apertura championship, Mascherano was called up to play in the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship. Argentina again finished fourth with Mascherano the team's outstanding player. He was however suspended for the third place play-off. In January 2004, Mascherano joined up with Argentina U23 for the South American Pre-Olímpico tournament in Chile. Argentina won the tournament, thereby qualifying for the 2004 Summer Olympics. In August, Mascherano and the team went on to become gold medal-winners in Greece. At the end of the 2003–04 season, Mascherano was included in the Argentina senior squad for the 2004 Copa América. Argentina lost to Brazil on penalties in the final, but Mascherano impressed enough to be voted Argentina's player of the tournament by his teammates. In the 2006 World Cup, Mascherano played every minute of every match for Argentina, with the team being eliminated by Germany in the quarter-finals. His first two goals for the senior Argentina team came in July 2007 during the 2007 Copa América. On 5 July, he scored the only goal in Argentina's final group stage match against Paraguay, which saw them finish in first place in their group with nine points. On 8 July, he scored a goal in a 4–0 victory over Peru in the quarter-finals.