Messi's last match for Argentina: 3-0 against Benin, at the Monumental, the stadium announced for the 2030 centenary match

Lionel Messi played his last match for Argentina on Tuesday 6 October 2026, at the Monumental in Buenos Aires: a friendly against Benin, won 3-0. He scored once and set up two goals. This is the stadium where Argentina is due to play its centenary match in 2030, according to the bid evaluated by FIFA: a match Messi will therefore not play for his national team.

The match

• Score: Argentina 3, Benin 0 (ESPN, France 24, Eurosport).
• 48th minute: Nicolás Otamendi scores from a Messi corner.
• 61st minute: Nico Paz scores from a Messi pass.
• 71st minute: Messi converts a penalty.
• Minutes according to ESPN and Eurosport. France 24 gives the 60th minute for the second goal and the 70th for the penalty.
• Messi, 39, played the full match, in front of more than 80,000 spectators (France 24, Eurosport).

His international record

According to France 24 and Eurosport, Messi leaves Argentina with:

• 208 caps, a national record (France 24, ESPN);
• 126 goals, a national record (France 24, ESPN);
• 67 assists.

After the match, he said that defending this shirt had been a great source of pride and that not coming back would be very painful (remarks reported in French by France 24 and Eurosport; we have not found the original Spanish wording).

Why this farewell match

• 19 July 2026: Argentina lose the 2026 World Cup final to Spain, 1-0 after extra time (CBS Sports).
• 31 August 2026: Messi announces his international retirement on social media. He explains that he wrote the message on 21 July, two days after the final (CBS Sports).
• The Argentine federation and head coach Lionel Scaloni then called him up one last time for this farewell match (France 24).

At club level, Messi remains under contract with Inter Miami until 2028 (France 24, Eurosport).

The link with 2030

According to the bid evaluated by FIFA (report of 29 November 2024), the Monumental is the stadium proposed for Argentina’s centenary match. FIFA has not yet published the final list of stadiums: the Congress of 11 December 2024 awarded one match to Argentina without naming a stadium. If confirmed, it will be the first World Cup finals match at the Monumental since 1978. The date, kick-off time and opponent have not been published.

According to Infobae (24 June 2026), work has begun to take the stadium to 101,000 seats, with completion announced for 2029. Details in our article on the Monumental works and on the stadium page.