•Argentina’s forward Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi was yesterday 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 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, reports AFP.
“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 Argentine FA president Claudio Tapia.
The match against Benin will take place at River Plate’s Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires. Tapia has also invited all of Argentina’s 2022 World Cup winners to join Messi for the 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.
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 Argentina beat England 2-1 in a tense World Cup semi-final 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 defeat by Spain.
Midfielder Leandro Paredes received a 10-match ban, while defender Nahuel Molina was suspended for seven games and Thiago Almada for one.
