Kolkata : Lionel Messi has been called up by Argentina to make a farewell appearance in a home friendly in October following his international retirement, the Argentina football association (AFA) has confirmed.
“We invited the best player in the world to play, the icon of our selection, our captain Lionel Andrés Messi, to have a deserved farewell on 6 October, here in Argentina,” the AFA president, Claudio Tapia, said on social media.
Argentina will play three home friendlies during the 21 September to 6 October Fifa international window, their first matches since the World Cup.
They will take on Benin in Buenos Aires’ Monumental Stadium on 6 October, where Messi, who announced his retirement from international football last month, has been invited to play his farewell match.
Argentina will also face Bolivia at Córdoba’s Mario Kempes Stadium on 30 September before moving to Buenos Aires to host Burkina Faso on 3 October. The Bolivia match will be played with capacity reduced by 50% as part of Fifa’s sanctions relating to incidents during this year’s World Cup.
“Footballers Messi, [Rodrigo] De Paul and [Giovani] Lo Celso will be in attendance to take part in the final friendly on 6 October. Meanwhile, the names of the players called up from the local league will be announced on Friday,” the AFA said in a statement announcing the squad.
The 39-year-old Inter Miami forward was included in the national squad for the friendly at Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires. The 85,000-capacity home ground of River Plate will host the retirement game, arranged by the Argentine Football Association (AFA) to give the star a fitting departure.
Messi announced his international retirement in August following Argentina’s runner-up finish against Spain in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final. Reflecting on his decision alongside the loss of his father Jorge, Messi stated that leaving the national side hurts deeply, but noted he has nothing left to give.
Messi leaves an unmatched legacy with the national team, holding records for both most appearances and goals with 125 goals in 207 caps. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner led Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar in 2022 before ending his World Cup journey as a runner-up in 2026.
The match venue will operate at full capacity after FIFA disciplinary sanctions are cleared. Argentina was previously ordered to restrict home crowd capacity to 50 per cent for two matches due to fan behavior and political banners shown after their 2-1 semifinal win over England. However, one match sanction was suspended, and the remaining penalty will be served during upcoming friendlies against Bolivia on Sept 30 and Burkina Faso on Oct 3.
Meanwhile, teammates Leandro Paredes and Nahuel Molina will miss the event. Both players received multi-match suspensions following post-match altercations after the World Cup final against Spain.
Now, the Benin friendly will give Messi the chance to wear the famous blue and white shirt one final time in front of his home supporters. The Argentine Football Association has planned the game as a farewell, with several members of the 2022 World Cup-winning squad also expected to be involved in the celebrations.
