Lionel Messi wrapped up his international career with Argentina by scoring a goal and providing two assists. The world champions defeated Benin 3-0 at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires on Tuesday night.
The match took place on October 6, marking Messi’s last game for Argentina after 21 years of representing his country.
Gernot Rohr, who used to coach Nigeria, was in charge of Benin for this farewell match.
Inter Miami shared that Messi assisted Nicolás Otamendi’s first goal from a corner in the 48th minute. He then set up Nico Paz for Argentina’s second goal in the 61st minute.
Messi scored a penalty in the 71st minute to seal the 3-0 victory. Inter Miami reported this on October 6, 2026, saying Messi was “directly involved in each of Argentina’s goals.” They called it Messi’s “final international appearance,” noting he ended the night with “a goal and a pair of assists.”
Reuters reported the match at 02:21 UTC on October 7, 2026. Messi finished his international career in front of over 85,000 fans.
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.”
Looking back on his time with Argentina, Messi mentioned: “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 noted that Messi ended his Argentina career as the most-capped player, with 208 appearances, and the record goalscorer, with 126 goals.
FIFA announced the match as Messi’s farewell game for Argentina. In a report from September 15, 2026, FIFA quoted Claudio Tapia, the president of the Argentine Football Association. Tapia said: “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 game, Benin goalkeeper Marcel Dandjinou told Spanish paper Marca that his team would not just show up for the occasion. Marca published the interview at 04:33 CDT on October 5, 2026.
Dandjinou said about facing Messi in his final match: “This is football: eleven against eleven.” He added: “We are not here to do tourism in Argentina, we are here to play and compete.” He also made it clear that Benin would not just let Messi score for the farewell.
In the same Marca interview, he stated: “I am a goalkeeper, and my role is to stop shots.” He was asked if he would try to save a Messi penalty, even in the last minute. Dandjinou replied: “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 before the game. He told C5N, according to Goal.com in a report from October 6, 2026: “We won’t be marking Messi.” Tijani said: “We’ll just enjoy this match.”
Benin coach Rohr shared his thoughts on the importance of facing Messi. In an interview with Footy-Africa published on October 6, 2026, Rohr said: “Yes, it’s a big honor for us and also for me as a coach to play this last game of Leo Messi in his national team.”
Rohr had previously coached Nigeria at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, where he led the Super Eagles against Argentina. The Argentina-Benin friendly brought Rohr back to a match involving Messi eight years after facing him at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
With this victory, Messi finishes his international career with 208 appearances and 126 goals for Argentina.
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