(../../../../favicon_aje.ico) Lionel Messi set for Argentina farewell in October 6 friendly against Benin | Football | Al Jazeera    (https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2026/9/16/lionel-messi-set-for-argentina-farewell-in-oct-6-friendly-against-benin)                                             (https://www.aljazeera.com/xml/rss/all.xml)  (https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/sports/2026/9/16/lionel-messi-set-for-argentina-farewell-in-oct-6-friendly-against-benin)  (https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/afp_6aaa3f45bf54-1789542213.jpg?resize=1920%2C1440)  (../../../../wp-content/uploads/2026/09/afp_6aaa3f45bf54-1789542213.jpg@resize=770,513&quality=80)     (https://cdn.cookielaw.org) (https://cdn.cookielaw.org) (https://cdn.cookielaw.org) (https://cdn.cookielaw.org/scripttemplates/otSDKStub.js) (https://www.google-analytics.com) (https://www.google-analytics.com) (https://www.google-analytics.com) (https://static.chartbeat.com/) (https://static.chartbeat.com/) (https://static.chartbeat.com/) (../../../../static/css/vendor~main~d08ff9cb.24bf1742.r2.chunk.css) (../../../../static/css/component~main~748942c6.6c6e15fe.r2.chunk.css) (../../../../static/css/component~main~b07b7304.e3bc53a0.r2.chunk.css) (../../../../static/css/component~main~6e6dca10.74fd263a.r2.chunk.css) (../../../../static/css/component~main~5db14389.c7afea12.r2.chunk.css) (https://www.aljazeera.com/static/media/Roboto-Bold.52bb58c8.woff2) (https://www.aljazeera.com/static/media/Roboto-Regular.c5bf51b6.woff2)  (../../../../static/css/vendor~aje/containers/home-page~components/video-article/videoPageDispatcher~containers/amp-live-blo~5f903362.2e08e417.r2.chunk.css)  (../../../../static/css/component~aje/containers/home-page~components/video-article/videoPageDispatcher~containers/amp-live-~41c72a2c.3f309873.r2.chunk.css)  (../../../../static/css/component~aje/containers/home-page~components/video-article/videoPageDispatcher~containers/amp-live-~06be7c11.0625e98d.r2.chunk.css)  (../../../../static/css/common~493df0b3.ec3ab9b5.r2.chunk.css)  (../../../../static/css/pages/article-page~493df0b3.accd71c7.r2.chunk.css)  (../../../../static/css/common~493df0b3.ec3ab9b5.r2.chunk.css)   Skip links (lionel-messi-set-for-argentina-farewell-in-oct-6-friendly-against-benin@traffic_source=rss.html#main-content-area) Skip to Content  (https://www.aljazeera.com/)          (https://www.aljazeera.com/video/live) play    Live    Sign up  Show navigation menu     Navigation menu (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/) News    Show more news sections  (https://www.aljazeera.com/africa/) Africa   (https://www.aljazeera.com/asia/) Asia   (https://www.aljazeera.com/us-canada/) US & Canada   (https://www.aljazeera.com/latin-america/) Latin America   (https://www.aljazeera.com/europe/) Europe   (https://www.aljazeera.com/asia-pacific/) Asia Pacific      (https://www.aljazeera.com/middle-east/) Middle East   (https://www.aljazeera.com/tag/explainer/) Explained   (https://www.aljazeera.com/sports) Sport   (https://www.aljazeera.com/opinion/) Opinion   (https://www.aljazeera.com/videos/) Video   More   Show more sections  (https://www.aljazeera.com/features/) Features   (https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/) Economy   (https://www.aljazeera.com/tag/human-rights/) Human Rights   (https://www.aljazeera.com/climate-crisis) Climate Crisis   (https://www.aljazeera.com/investigations/) Investigations   (https://www.aljazeera.com/interactives/) Interactives   (https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/) In Pictures   (https://www.aljazeera.com/tag/science-and-technology/) Science & Technology   (https://www.aljazeera.com/audio/podcasts) Podcasts   (https://www.aljazeera.com/travel) Travel   (https://www.aljazeera.com/sponsored/) Sponsored Content        (https://www.aljazeera.com/video/live) play    Live    Click here to search search     Sign up        (https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/) Sport |(https://www.aljazeera.com/tag/football/) Football   Lionel Messi set for Argentina farewell in October 6 friendly against Benin Messi will make his 208th and final appearance in the ‘farewell he truly deserves’, says Argentina football’s chief.   Listen   Listen (2 mins)       Save       Share Lionel Messi set for Argentina farewell in October 6 friendly against Benin on social media share-nodes    Share (https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Faje.news%2Ft9k8iz) facebook      (https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Lionel%20Messi%20set%20for%20Argentina%20farewell%20in%20October%206%20friendly%20against%20Benin&source=sharethiscom&related=sharethis&via=AJEnglish&url=https%3A%2F%2Faje.news%2Ft9k8iz) x    (whatsapp://send?text=https%3A%2F%2Faje.news%2Ft9k8iz) whatsapp-stroke    (https://aje.news/t9k8iz)  copylink          google       Add Al Jazeera on Google  info      ((FILES) Argentina's forward #10 Lionel Messi is lifted by teammates as they celebrate after winning the 2026 World Cup round of 16 football match between Argentina and Egypt at Atlanta Stadium in Atlanta on July 7, 2026.)   The match against Benin will take place at River Plate's Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires, which can accommodate 85,000 spectators [AFP/File]   By  AFP   Published On 16 Sep 2026 16 Sep 2026    Lionel Messi was named in Argentina’s squad for a friendly against Benin on October 6, a match that will serve as his farewell appearance after announcing his international retirement last month. The 39-year-old said in August he was (https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2026/8/31/argentina-legend-lionel-messi-retires-from-international-football) retiring from Argentina duty after a two-decade international career that included winning the 2022 World Cup and Copa America triumphs in 2021 and 2024. Recommended Stories list of 4 items list 1 of 4 (https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2026/9/16/manchester-derby-var-error-caused-by-tunnel-vision-pro-ref-chief-webb) Manchester derby VAR error caused by ‘tunnel vision’: Pro Ref chief Webb  list 2 of 4 (https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2026/9/14/south-koreas-new-manager-robert-moreno-dismisses-ai-coaching-allegations) ‘Fake news’: South Korea’s manager Moreno dismisses AI coaching allegations  list 3 of 4 (https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2026/9/15/etoo-could-face-cameroon-probe-over-alleged-russia-payment) Eto’o could face Cameroon probe over alleged Russia payment  list 4 of 4 (https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2026/9/15/champions-league-final-venues-revealed-munich-2028-barcelona-2029) Champions League final venues revealed: Munich 2028, Barcelona 2029   end of list  “We made the decision 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 truly deserves on October 6 here in Argentina,” said the country’s FA president Claudio Tapia.     The match against Benin will take place at River Plate’s Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires, which can accommodate 85,000 spectators. Tapia also invited all of Argentina’s 2022 World Cup winners to join Messi for what he said would be an “unforgettable” occasion. Argentina begin a series of three friendlies against Bolivia on September 30 in Cordoba — their first match since losing the World Cup final to Spain — before taking on Burkina Faso in Buenos Aires on October 3. Messi has been included in the squad for the third match against Benin, when he is expected to make his 208th and final appearance for the national team. He is Argentina’s all-time record scorer with 125 goals. Following the (https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2026/8/8/lionel-messis-father-dies-aged-68-after-a-long-illness) death of his father Jorge last month, Messi had said he had “serious doubts” about continuing to play football of any sort for “much longer”. “It was a decision that hurt and still hurts deep in my soul but I understand that it is the right time,” Messi said when he called time on his Argentina career. Advertisement    His contract with Major League Soccer club Inter Miami runs until the end of the 2028 season. Last month FIFA ordered Argentina to play their next home match with capacity reduced to 50 percent for breaches of its disciplinary code relating to using a sports event for making demonstrations of a non-sporting nature. After (https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2026/7/15/argentina-stun-england-in-2-1-comeback-win-to-reach-2026-world-cup-final) Argentina beat England 2-1 in a tense World Cup semifinal in July, several players held up a banner saying: “The Falklands are Argentine”. The friendlies are also expected to count towards suspensions handed down following incidents after Argentina’s World Cup final (https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2026/7/20/key-takeaways-from-the-world-cup-2026-final-as-spain-beat-argentina) defeat by Spain. Midfielder Leandro Paredes received a (https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2026/8/21/argentinas-parades-gets-10-game-ban-for-world-cup-final-scuffle-with-spain) 10-match ban , while defender Nahuel Molina was suspended for seven games and Thiago Almada for one.            aj-logo             aj-logo             aj-logo       Advertisement          About About   Show more  (https://www.aljazeera.com/about-us) About Us   (https://www.aljazeera.com/code-of-ethics/) Code of Ethics   (https://www.aljazeera.com/terms-and-conditions/) Terms and Conditions   (https://www.aljazeera.com/eu-eea-regulatory/) EU/EEA Regulatory Notice   (https://privacy.aljazeera.net/) Privacy Policy   (https://privacy.aljazeera.net/cookie/) Cookie Policy   (https://www.aljazeera.com/) Cookie Preferences    (https://trust.aljazeera.net/accessibility/) Accessibility Statement   (https://www.aljazeera.com/sitemap) Sitemap   (https://careers.aljazeera.net/) Work for us      Connect Connect   Show more  (https://network.aljazeera.net/en/contact?tid=6) Contact Us   (https://www.aljazeera.com/user-accounts-help) User Accounts Help   (https://commercial.aljazeera.net/) Advertise with us   (https://www.aljazeera.com/stay-connected) Stay Connected   (https://www.aljazeera.com/newsletters) Newsletters   (https://sat.aljazeera.net/en) Channel Finder   (https://www.aljazeera.com/schedule/) TV Schedule   (https://www.aljazeera.com/podcasts/) Podcasts   (https://webapps.aljazeera.net/aje/tips/) Submit a Tip   (https://www.aljazeera.com/sponsored) Paid Partner Content      Our Channels Our Channels   Show more  (http://aljazeera.net/) Al Jazeera Arabic   (https://www.aljazeera.com/) Al Jazeera English   (https://www.ajiunit.com/) Al Jazeera Investigative Unit   (https://www.aljazeeramubasher.net/) Al Jazeera Mubasher   (http://doc.aljazeera.net/) Al Jazeera Documentary   (http://balkans.aljazeera.net/) Al Jazeera Balkans   (http://ajplus.net/) AJ+      Our Network Our Network   Show more  (http://studies.aljazeera.net/en/) Al Jazeera Centre for Studies   (http://training.aljazeera.net/) Al Jazeera Media Institute   (http://learning.aljazeera.net/) Learn Arabic   (http://liberties.aljazeera.com/en) Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights   (http://forum.aljazeera.net/) Al Jazeera Forum   (https://hotels.aljazeera.net/en) Al Jazeera Hotel Partners        Follow Al Jazeera English: (https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera) facebook       (https://twitter.com/ajenglish) twitter     (https://www.youtube.com/aljazeeraenglish) youtube     (https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/?hl=en) instagram-colored-outline                          (https://www.aljazeera.com/xml/rss/all.xml) rss     (https://bsky.app/profile/aljazeera.com) bluesky     (https://www.tiktok.com/@aljazeeraenglish) tiktok-colored-outline                  (Al Jazeera Media Network logo)   © 2026 Al Jazeera Media Network