LIONEL Messi was on Tuesday named in Argentina’s squad for a friendly against Benin on 6 October, a match that will serve as his farewell appearance after announcing his international retirement last month.
The 39-year-old said in August that he was calling time on his Argentina career after two decades of service that yielded the 2022 World Cup and Copa América titles in 2021 and 2024.
“We made the decision to invite the best player in the world, the symbol of our national team, our captain, Lionel Andrés Messi, so that he can have the farewell he truly deserves on 6 October 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 run of three friendlies against Bolivia on 30 September in Córdoba — their first outing since losing the World Cup final to Spain — before taking on Burkina Faso in Buenos Aires on 3 October.
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 per cent for breaches of its disciplinary code relating to the use of a sports event for 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 reading: “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.
