After 125 goals in 207 matches, Lionel Messi will formally bring down the curtain on his Argentina career at the age of 39, in a friendly against Benin on 6 October. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner announced his international retirement after defeat by Spain in the 2026 World Cup final and the death of his father. "We decided to invite the best player in the world, the symbol and captain of our national team, Lionel Andrés Messi, so that here in Argentina, on 6 October, we can give him the send-off he truly deserves," declared Claudio Tapia, president of the Argentine Football Association. Messi himself admitted the decision had been a painful one, yet insisted he had given the national team everything.
Tellingly, the occasion almost played out in front of a half-empty stadium. After the 2-1 semi-final victory over England, discriminatory chanting from supporters and a banner referencing the Falkland Islands, the British territory Argentina claims as its own, led FIFA to restrict the Estadio Monumental, River Plate's 85,000-capacity home, to half its capacity. Yet with the fixtures against Bolivia and Burkina Faso already served under the sanction, the punishment will have fully expired before Benin come to town. Two familiar faces will still be missing. Leandro Paredes and Nahuel Molina were handed heavy suspensions for their part in the brawl that followed the final against Spain, ten matches and seven matches respectively, and will sit out the farewell. Ultimately, the 2022 world champion captain leaves the national team as its all-time leading goalscorer and its most-capped player.
