Messi to bid farewell to Argentina in friendly against Benin
39-year-old star set for final international appearance at Buenos Aires’ Monumental Stadium
Argentine football star Lionel Messi is set to make his final international appearance when Argentina face Benin in a friendly on Wednesday.
The 39-year-old will bid farewell to the national team at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires, where River Plate play their home matches.
The stadium, the largest in South America with a capacity of around 85,000, will host the match, which is scheduled to kick off at 2 am Türkiye time (2300GMT Tuesday).
The Monumental Stadium is the venue in Argentina where Messi has scored the most goals for the national team.
Messi has made 28 appearances there for Argentina, recording 22 wins and six draws without a defeat while scoring 19 goals.
He scored his first goal at the stadium against Uruguay in a World Cup qualifier in 2008 and later registered hat-tricks against Bolivia in 2021 and 2024.
Messi is bringing an end to a 21-year international career marked by numerous records and trophies.
He holds Argentina’s all-time appearance record with 207 matches and has scored 125 goals, making him the highest-scoring South American player in international football.
Messi has won six international trophies at senior and youth levels: one FIFA World Cup, two Copa America titles, one Finalissima, one Olympic gold medal and one FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Messi, who led Argentina to the World Cup title in 2022, again helped his country reach the final at the 2026 tournament, the last major competition of his international career.
Argentina, however, suffered a 1-0 extra-time defeat to Spain in the final to finish runners-up.
Messi scored eight goals during the tournament.
Messi also holds the record for the most World Cup appearances with 34 matches.
He recorded 23 wins, five draws and six defeats across six World Cups in 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 and 2026.
Messi scored seven goals during Argentina’s title-winning campaign in 2022 and eight at the 2026 tournament.
With 21 World Cup goals, he ranks second on the competition’s all-time scoring list behind France’s Kylian Mbappe, who has 22.
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