Lionel Messi to make one final Argentina appearance in Buenos Aires after World Cup retirement
Lionel Messi will wear the Argentina shirt one last time this week in Buenos Aires in a farewell friendly against Benin after being invited back following his decision to retire from international football after the World Cup final. He departs the national team having collected 208 caps and scored 125 goals and with a World Cup to his name.
Messi first announced what appeared to be a permanent exit in 2016 after the Copa América Centenario final defeat to Chile, saying: "This is tough and a difficult time," he said after the Copa América Centenario final defeat to Chile. "The end has come for me and our team. It has been four finals – it just wasn’t for me unfortunately. I looked for it and wanted it so badly, but it didn’t happen. This is best for everyone – for me and for a lot of people that wish this. The team has ended for me, a decision made. I tried many times and I leave without being able to obtain it." About six weeks later, after a national campaign urging him to change his mind, Messi confirmed he wasn’t quitting and went on to play another 10 years with the national team.
Argentina’s international timeline in the Messi era included a string of finals defeats before later success: losses in the Copa América finals of 2007, 2015 and 2016 and defeat in the 2014 World Cup final. The 2018 World Cup was described in the article as a debacle, with poor qualifying, reports of a player mutiny after a 3-0 defeat to Croatia in the group stage, and elimination by France in the last 16 (admittedly, they did run the eventual champions close in an instant classic in Kazan). After Russia 2018 Argentina parted ways with Jorge Sampaoli and appointed his assistant as coach.
Diego Maradona publicly criticised the appointment of Lionel Scaloni, saying: "He’s a great guy, but he can’t even direct traffic," said Maradona. "How can we give the Argentina team to him? Are we all crazy?" Despite that rebuke, Scaloni — and Pablo Aimar — seemingly convinced Messi his absence need not be permanent, a turning point in the relationship between player and staff.
Scaloni has since become the only Argentina coach to have won the World Cup and multiple Copa América titles, and Messi was central to those achievements. Messi played more matches under Scaloni than any other Argentina coach (79 caps), and the coach constructed a squad that allowed Messi to operate at the top end of the pitch without being required to contribute heavily to defensive work, with other players accepting that role.
Messi’s World Cup résumé contains numerous records and near-records: he has played in 34 men’s World Cup matches — the most of any player — and shares the record for most editions played (six). He registered 33 World Cup goal involvements, a tournament record, with 22 of those coming across the 2022 and 2026 campaigns; his 10 goal involvements in Qatar 2022 were the joint most at that tournament and his 12 in North America were bettered only by Kylian Mbappé (14). He briefly broke the record for most World Cup goals when he reached 18 with a double against Austria this year, finishing on 21, one short of Mbappé’s 22. Messi also scored in nine successive World Cup matches, a tournament record, and became the first player to start three men’s World Cup finals (2014, 2022 and 2026), with Cafu the only other player to even feature in three.
Argentina’s recent haul — consecutive Copa América wins either side of Qatar 2022, their first World Cup triumph since 1986 and a run to the final at this summer’s World Cup — represents a period of success the article says the nation had not seen for a generation. The piece also notes images from the 2026 World Cup warm-ups that made it look as if Messi was leading his own personal militia and describes how team-mates tended to accept defensive duties so Messi could focus on attacking; their talisman remained their best player until his final match.
Tuesday’s friendly against Benin in Buenos Aires will serve as Messi’s celebratory run-out and a visible marker of Argentina entering a new era with uncertainty about what they can achieve without him. This is an article by Opta Analyst.