Argentina yesterday picked Lionel Messi in their roster for a friendly with Benin on October 6, which will be his farewell outing after he announced his international retirement last month.
In August, the 39-year-old announced his retirement from Argentina service, bringing an end to a 20-year international career that featured World Cup victory in 2022 and Copa America titles in 2021 and 2024, AFP said.
“We decided to invite the best player in the world, the symbol of our national team, our captain, Lionel Andres Messi, so that he can have the farewell he deserves here in Argentina on October 6,” stated Argentine FA president Claudio Tapia.
The clash with Benin will take place at River Plate’s Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires. Tapia has also invited all of the players that won the 2022 World Cup for Argentina to join Messi for the occasion.
Argentina begin a three-match friendly series against Bolivia in Cordoba on September 30, their first game since falling to Spain in the World Cup final, before taking on Burkina Faso in Buenos Aires on October 3.
Messi was named in the squad for the third encounter against Benin where he is anticipated to make his 208th and last appearance for the national team. He has 125 goals, which makes him Argentina’s all-time record scorer.
Last month, FIFA ordered Argentina to play their next home encounter with capacity cut to 50 percent for breaches of its disciplinary code relating to the use of a sports event for making demonstrations of a non-sporting nature.
Several players held up a banner reading: “The Falklands are Argentine” after Argentina overcame England 2-1 in a tense World Cup semi-final in July.
The friendlies are also likely to contribute toward any punishments given down following disturbances after Argentina’s World Cup final loss to Spain.
Midfielder Leandro Paredes was suspended for 10 matches, defender Nahuel Molina for seven and Thiago Almada for one.
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