Lionel Messi to Play Farewell Match for Argentina vs Benin

Lionel Messi will play his 208th and last match for Argentina on 6 October, against Benin at River AC Plate's Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires. The Argentina Football Association confirmed the send-off in a statement.

«We would like to announce that, following a discussion with national team coach, Lionel Scaloni, we have decided to invite the world’s best player, the icon of our national team, our captain Lionel Messi, so that he can receive the send-off he truly deserves on 6 October here in Argentina. Having received Lionel’s acceptance, we are inviting all the world champions who played alongside him at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to join him, Together with their families, for what will be an unforgettable match for all Argentinians who support the national team, as they watch the world’s best player’s last dance».

The friendly caps an extended international window. Argentina open against Bolivia in Córdoba on 30 September, then face Burkina Faso in Buenos Aires on 3 October before the Benin match three days later. Messi will feature only in the Benin fixture, arriving alongside Rodrigo de Paul and Giovani Lo Celso, with the rest of the squad on duty for all three games under Lionel Scaloni.

Messi announced his international retirement on 31 August, saying he had "nothing left to give" and pointing to the emerging generation pushing for places. The decision followed Argentina's World Cup final defeat by France, and came weeks after the death of his father, Jorge, at 68. The AFA has invited the whole of the 2022 World Cup-winning squad, and their families, to attend the Benin game alongside him.

Messi leaves the Albiceleste with 125 goals in 207 appearances, two Copa América titles and the 2022 World Cup. He returned to Inter Miami after the tournament and has kept scoring: for a side second in the Eastern Conference, he is still finding the net.

The Benin fixture at the Monumental, the largest stadium in South America, will be the occasion itself.