BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, Sept 16, 2026 (BSS/AFP) – Argentine legend Lionel Messi will return to play in a friendly match against Benin next month, in his last appearance for the national team, local media said Tuesday. The 39-year-old announced last month his farewell from the Argentine national team following a 20-year career in which he finally lifted the World Cup trophy last year, after suffering losses in the final of that competition and the Copa America.
“We have made the decision to invite the best in the world, the symbol of our national team, our captain, Lionel Andres Messi, so that he can have the farewell he truly deserves on October 6 here in Argentina,” said Argentine Football Association president Claudio Tapia. The clash against Benin will be held at River Plate’s Estadio Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires. Pablo Aimar, Argentina coach for the Under-17 team, will also be part of the visit by Messi, who scored 125 goals in 208 appearances for the Albicelestes and is Argentina’s leading scorer of all time.
The Argentine Football Association will also send invitations to all the team members who played in Argentina’s 2022 World Cup-winning team. They will play Bolivia on September 30 at Cordoba, their first match since losing the world crown final to Spain, and then Burkina Faso on October 3 at Buenos Aires’ Monumental stadium.
Argentina will then face Benin for the third time, and it is expected that Messi will play the entirety of the game, where he is likely to make his 208th and final appearance for the nation. The player scored an impressive 125 goals with Argentina, the most in history.
The game comes after last month’s FIFA mandate that Argentina will be able to play their next home game at 50 percent of the stadium capacity due to breaches of its disciplinary code by using a sports event to make demonstrations of a non-sporting nature. After beating England 2-1 in a tense semi-final in July at the World Cup, several players held up a banner proclaiming: ‘The Falklands are Argentine’.
The friendlies are also likely to count towards suspensions imposed following incidents after the World Cup final loss to Spain. Midfielder Leandro Paredes received a 10-match ban while defender Nahuel Molina was suspended for seven games and Thiago Almada for one.
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