Lionel Messi ended his Argentina international career with a goal and two assists as the world champions defeated Benin 3-0 at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires on Tuesday night.
The match, played on October 6, marked Messi’s final appearance for Argentina after a 21-year international career.
Former Nigeria head coach Gernot Rohr was in charge of Benin for the farewell fixture.
According to Inter Miami, Messi provided the assist for Nicolás Otamendi’s opener from a corner in the 48th minute before setting up Nico Paz for Argentina’s second goal in the 61st minute.
Messi then converted a penalty in the 71st minute to complete the 3-0 victory.
Inter Miami reported the match in a report published on October 6, 2026, saying Messi had been “directly involved in each of Argentina’s goals.”
The club described it as Messi’s “final international appearance” and said he finished the night with “a goal and a pair of assists.”
Reuters reported the match at 02:21 UTC on October 7, 2026, saying Messi had brought the curtain down on his international career in front of more than 85,000 spectators.
Speaking after the game, Messi said, according to Reuters: “It’s hard to talk.”
He added: “There are a lot of emotions, a lot of things going through my head.”
Reflecting on his Argentina career, Messi said: “It was a huge source of pride for me to wear this shirt all this time, more than 20 years.”
He also said: “Playing for Argentina is the most beautiful thing that can happen to you.”
Reuters reported that Messi finished his Argentina career as the country’s most-capped player with 208 appearances and its record goalscorer with 126 goals.
The match had been announced by FIFA as Messi’s farewell appearance for Argentina.
In a September 15, 2026 report, FIFA quoted Argentine Football Association president Claudio Tapia as saying: “We invited the world’s best player, our national-team icon, our captain Lionel Andres Messi, to have a deserved farewell here in Argentina.”
Before the match, Benin goalkeeper Marcel Dandjinou told Spanish newspaper Marca that his team would not simply attend the occasion.
Marca published the interview at 04:33 CDT on October 5, 2026.
Asked about playing Messi in his final Argentina match, Dandjinou said: “This is football: eleven against eleven.”
He added: “We are not here to do tourism in Argentina, we are here to play and compete.”
Dandjinou also rejected the idea that Benin would allow Messi to score as part of the farewell.
In the same Marca interview, he said: “I am a goalkeeper, and my role is to stop shots.”
On whether he would try to save a Messi penalty even in the final minute, Dandjinou said: “If Messi takes it, I will try to stop it.”
He added: “Nobody has told us that we have to give him a goal.”
Benin defender Mohamed Tijani also spoke ahead of the match, telling C5N, according to Goal.com in a report published October 6, 2026: “We won’t be marking Messi.”
Tijani added: “We’ll just enjoy this match.”
Benin coach Rohr also spoke about the significance of facing Messi.
In an interview with Footy-Africa published October 6, 2026, Rohr said: “Yes, it’s a big honor for us and also for me like a coach to play this last game of Leo Messi in his national team.”
Rohr previously coached Nigeria at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, where he led the Super Eagles against Argentina.
The Argentina-Benin friendly therefore brought Rohr back into a match involving Messi eight years after the former Nigeria coach faced the Argentine star at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Argentina’s victory brought Messi’s international career to a close with 208 appearances and 126 goals for the national team.
Source: punchng.com
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