Messi confirms farewell match with Argentina on Oct. 6

Lionel Messi, 39, will play one final match in an Argentina jersey before retiring from international football.

The Argentine Football Association (AFA) announced Tuesday (local time) its squad for October friendlies, which includes Messi.

Messi is set to make his farewell appearance for the national team on Oct. 6 at Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires in a friendly against Benin.

Messi announced his international retirement on Aug. 31 via social media, saying, "It is a painful decision, but I know well that now is the time to leave."

AFA President Claudio Tapia said the association had decided to invite Messi "so that Lionel Andrés Messi — the best player in the world, the symbol of our national team, our captain — can have his farewell here in Argentina on Oct. 6."

The AFA also invited all members of the 2022 World Cup-winning squad to join Messi for the occasion.

Messi made his senior international debut in 2005 and went on to appear 207 times for Argentina, scoring 125 goals — both all-time records for the national team.

He won the World Cup once, in 2022, finished runner-up twice, in 2014 and 2026, and claimed eight Ballon d'Or awards, leading many to regard him as having surpassed Argentine football legend Diego Maradona.

Argentina had to settle for second place at the 2026 North and Central America World Cup, with Messi leading the side.

Shortly after, his father died, and Messi cited personal grief when he announced his retirement from international football.

Messi is under contract with Inter Miami through 2028.

Argentina will play Bolivia in Cordoba on Sept. 30 and Burkina Faso in Buenos Aires on Oct. 3 before facing Benin on Oct. 6.

Against Benin, Messi is expected to share the pitch with Rodrigo De Paul, Giovanni Lo Celso and other members of the squad that won the World Cup four years ago.