Lionel Messi to play final Argentina game vs. Benin in October: ‘It will be his last dance’

Lionel Messi will have his “last dance” with Argentina’s national team in a friendly match against Benin in Buenos Aires on October 6.

Messi confirmed his retirement from international football last month, but the 39-year-old Inter Miami star will now play his final Argentina match in the nation’s capital.

Argentina play the west African nation of Benin at River Plate’s Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires on October 6. That is three days after a scheduled match against Burkina Faso in the same stadium and will conclude a trio of friendlies for Lionel Scaloni’s side which begins against Bolivia in Cordoba on September 30.

Messi will feature in just the game against Benin, the Argentina Football Association (AFA) has confirmed, along with Giovani Lo Celso and Rodrigo de Paul, who won the 2022 World Cup alongside the captain in Qatar.

The AFA said in a statement that all of the squad that won the World Cup four years ago will be invited to be present at the game against Benin.

“We would like to announce that, following a discussion with national team coach, Lionel Scaloni, we have decided to invite the world’s best player, the icon of our national team, our captain Lionel Messi, so that he can receive the send-off he truly deserves on 6 October here in Argentina,” the AFA confirmed.

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— 🇦🇷 Selección Argentina ⭐⭐⭐ (@Argentina) September 15, 2026

“Furthermore, having received Lionel’s acceptance, we are inviting all the world champions who played alongside him at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to join him, together with their families, for what will be an unforgettable match for all Argentinians who support the national team, as they watch the world’s best player’s last dance.”

Messi’s most recent appearance for Argentina was the World Cup final defeat by Spain. It was Messi’s sixth appearance at a World Cup and one in which he became only the second player (after Brazil’s Cafu) to appear in three men’s World Cup finals, having won the previous edition in 2022 and been a runner-up to Germany in 2014.

The match against Benin will be Messi’s 208th and final international appearance, in which he will look to add to his 125 goals for Argentina.

Messi said his decision to retire from international football “hurts deep in my soul”, but added that he “realises the time has come” for him to stop playing for Argentina, with whom he won the 2022 World Cup and the Copa America titles in 2021 and 2024.

Last month, the Inter Miami star spoke of his doubts over continuing his playing career “for much longer” following the death of his father, Jorge, who died aged 68 on August 8.

Argentina’s next major tournament will be the Copa America in 2028, when Messi will be aged 41. The next World Cup, which will have one match in Argentina (as well as one each in Paraguay and Uruguay) before being primarily hosted in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, would see Messi turn 43 midway through.