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| Lionel messi |
Lionel Messi will make his final appearance for Argentina on Tuesday when the national team face Benin in a friendly at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires, bringing an emotional end to his 21-year international career.
The 39-year-old forward is expected to receive a huge farewell from about 85,000 supporters at the stadium, while millions of fans are set to follow the occasion on television.
Messi, Argentina’s most-capped player, announced his international retirement in August, saying he had given everything he could and that younger players deserved an opportunity.
His final training session with the national team took place on Monday at the complex in Ezeiza that bears his name.
Argentina will also begin preparing for life without their captain. Cristian Romero is expected to take over the captaincy after Tuesday’s game, while several players who were part of the team’s successful era alongside Messi are set to feature against Benin.
Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernandez, Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez are among those expected to play as coach Lionel Scaloni begins the process of filling the gap left by his long-time talisman.
The signs from Argentina’s emerging players have been encouraging. Without Messi, the team defeated Bolivia 4-0 in Cordoba before producing an even more convincing 7-0 victory over Burkina Faso at the Monumental.
Franco Mastantuono and Gianluca Prestianni both scored their first international goals in the latter match, highlighting the talent available to Argentina as the team moves into a new era.
Messi leaves behind an exceptional record with the national team. He has scored 125 goals in 207 appearances and provided 68 assists, making him Argentina’s leading scorer and appearance-maker.
His international career also delivered some of the biggest honours in Argentine football. He helped the country win the 2005 World Youth Championship, the 2008 Olympic title, the 2021 and 2024 Copa America, and the 2022 Finalissima.
The defining moment came in 2022 when Messi captained Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar, ending the country’s 36-year wait for the trophy and further establishing his place alongside Diego Maradona among Argentina’s greatest football figures.
There were difficult moments before and after that triumph, including defeats in the 2014 World Cup final against Germany and the 2016 Copa America final against Chile. Argentina also lost this year’s World Cup final to Spain, with Messi playing despite visibly struggling with fatigue.
Messi’s departure from international football does not immediately mean the end of his playing career. He remains under contract with Inter Miami until 2028, although he has indicated that he could retire from football sooner following the death of his father, Jorge, two months ago.
Attention will also turn to Argentina’s famous No. 10 shirt after Messi’s farewell. Scaloni has confirmed that nobody will be given the number until after Messi’s final game.
“Until Leo’s game, we won’t give the number 10 to anyone. After that, we’ll see,” Scaloni said.
For Argentina, Tuesday’s match against Benin will therefore mark more than the end of a friendly fixture. It will close the international chapter of Messi’s career and officially begin the search for a new leader to carry the team forward.