Scaloni: No. 10 Retired Until Messi's Farewell vs Benin
Lionel Scaloni says no Argentina player will wear the No. 10 shirt in upcoming friendlies, keeping it retired until Messi's farewell against Benin on 6 October.
Lionel Scaloni has confirmed that no Argentina player will wear the number 10 shirt in the squad's next two friendlies, leaving it retired until Lionel Messi's farewell match against Benin on 6 October.
Argentina face Bolivia and Burkina Faso before that date. Scaloni made clear the shirt stays off the field of play for both fixtures.
"In these matches nobody will play under the number 10. We are not obliged to hand it to anyone. We will not give it to anyone until Leo's match, and then we will see how the situation develops. The idea is for someone to take this number on a permanent basis," Scaloni said.
Messi's send-off comes after 207 caps and 125 goals for Argentina, spanning a World Cup win, two World Cup runners-up finishes and two Copa América titles. The Benin match will be his last in an albiceleste shirt following his announcement, made weeks after his father's death, that he was ending his international career.
Argentina arrive at the friendly window top of their World Cup qualifying group, level on 9 points from 3 matches. Burkina Faso, the visitors for the warm-up fixture before the Benin send-off, sit second in the Africa Cup of Nations group phase with 6 points from 3 games.
Scaloni's comments leave open who eventually inherits the number, with the coach stressing only that it should go to one player rather than be passed around the squad.
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