Football: Lionel Messi will play his last match with Argentina against Benin.

Published on: 09/15/2026 - 23:57

2 min Reading time

The situation seemed final on August 31 when the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner and 2022 World Cup champion announced, with great sadness, the end of his international career following Argentina's defeat in the final of the 2026 World Cup and the death of his father, Jorge Messi, in early August.

However, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) revealed on Tuesday, September 15, that it wanted to pay tribute to its legend by organizing a friendly match against Benin on October 6 at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires.

Lionel Messi is part of a list of 28 players called up by the AFA for Argentina's next three matches, against Bolivia on September 30 in Cordoba, followed by Burkina Faso and Benin on October 3 and 6 in the capital. However, it is during this last match, which will take place in the 85,000-seat stadium of River Plate, that Messi will be celebrated.

The promise of an “unforgettable” match

In agreement with coach Lionel Scaloni, “we decided to invite the best player in the world, the symbol of our team, our captain Lionel Andrés Messi, so he can have the farewell he truly deserves, on October 6 [during the match against Benin, editor's note], here in Argentina,” said AFA president Claudio Tapia in a video also shared on the Albiceleste's X account.

“All the world champions” from 2022 have been invited to take part in this farewell, “so that with their families, they can accompany him during this match, which will be unforgettable,” added the Argentine Football Federation leader.

A month and a half after the defeat in the final against Spain (1-0 after extra time), Lionel Messi announced on August 29 the end of his international journey. “This is a decision that still hurts deep inside me, but I understand that it is time,” the former FC Barcelona star, who scored 125 goals in 207 appearances for Argentina, expressed on Instagram.

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