Lionel Messi brought the curtain down on his Argentina career in fitting style in Buenos Aires, scoring in a 3-0 win over Benin and calling national-team duty “the most wonderful thing that can happen to you.”
The 39-year-old departs as the most-capped player in Argentina’s history with 208 senior appearances, and as their all-time leading scorer with 126 goals.
Across a 21-year international journey, Messi collected football’s biggest prizes with his country, lifting the 2022 World Cup and winning two Copa Americas.
His final appearance also carried the stamp of his influence beyond the scoresheet. On a night heavy with emotion, Messi set up the opener for another Argentina player leaving the international stage — 38-year-old centre-back Nicolas Otamendi — before laying on the second for Nico Paz.
“I feel so many emotions,” Messi said in quotes reported by the Argentinean Football Association, after announcing his international retirement following this summer’s World Cup and the death of his father.
“The first thing I think about is my old man. I can only express my gratitude; it was a tremendous honour to wear this jersey for over 20 years.
“I never stopped fighting, never stopped giving my all. I swear to you that I’d like to come back for life, because playing for the Argentina national team is the most wonderful thing that can happen to you.”
Argentina had to work for their breakthrough after a first half ended scoreless, with Benin showing enough resistance to suggest the evening might not simply follow the expected script.
The deadlock finally broke when Otamendi pounced after Benin failed to clear a Messi corner, driving the ball home to put the hosts in front.
Paz made it 2-0 on 61 minutes, firing in from the edge of the area, before Messi sealed the result late on. A clumsy challenge by Tamimou Ouorou on Agustin Giay brought a penalty, and the Inter Miami forward struck it emphatically into the top corner.
Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni said his goodbyes to his captain in glowing terms: “It’s been a dream come true. I never thought I’d be the coach of the best footballer in history.
“We are eternally grateful to him for giving us the opportunity to be with him.
“The tears are because so many things are going through my head. Not seeing him anymore will be sad; he leaves us with an incredible legacy.
“The feeling of having him (Messi) on your side is incomparable… I’ve never seen that aura in anyone else in my life.”
Tributes also arrived from across the football world, including from Brazil forward Neymar, Messi’s former Barcelona team-mate, who posted on X: “It’s not just Argentina that thanks you, the world thanks you for everything you did for football.
“Thank you for making me love football even more, it was an honour to have played against you and even more so to make history by your side.”
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