Messi said goodbye to Argentina: a goal and two assists in his final match
Lionel Messi played his final match for the Argentina national team. The 39-year-old footballer scored a penalty and provided two assists in his farewell match against Benin. Argentina won with a score of 3:0.
Messi said goodbye to Argentina: a goal and two assists in his final match
The friendly match took place on the evening of October 6 at the "Monumental" stadium in Buenos Aires.
In the 10th minute of the match, the game was stopped for one minute. This exact time was chosen because Messi played under the number 10 in the national team. The fans in the stadium applauded their captain, while the Benin players came up to him and shook his hand.
In his farewell match, Messi was directly involved in all three of Argentina's goals: he scored one himself and provided assists for the other two.
Thus, his statistics for the Argentina national team reached 208 matches and 126 goals.
Messi made his debut for the national team in 2005, at the age of 18. During his career spanning more than twenty years, he became a world champion, a two-time Copa América winner, and an Olympic champion with Argentina.
His greatest achievement with the national team is considered to be the victory at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
At the 2026 World Cup, Argentina also reached the final. However, in the decisive match, they lost to Spain 0-1 in extra time. Messi announced the end of his international career at the end of August.
The football player's club career is also rich in numerous trophies. With "Barcelona", he became the champion of Spain ten times and won the UEFA Champions League four times. He also won the Copa del Rey seven times and the Spanish Super Cup eight times.
In 2021, Messi moved from "Barcelona" to "Paris Saint-Germain" and became champion twice with the French club. Since 2023, he has been playing for the US team "Inter Miami".
Although the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner has said goodbye to the national team, he continues his club career.