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Lionel Messi has been named in the Argentina squad just weeks after announcing his international retirement. The football legend would have hung up his boots soon after the FIFA World Cup final loss to Spain; however, due to his father's death, the retirement announcement was delayed.
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Meanwhile, despite the retirement, he is again named in the Argentina squad. Messi will play his final match for the Argentina national team on 6 October, in a friendly against Benin at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires. The Argentina Football Association (AFA) confirmed the arrangement on Tuesday, inviting the 39-year-old Inter Miami forward to receive the send-off he deserves on home soil.
Lionel Messi named in Argentina squad weeks after announcing international retirement
Messi accepted the call-up after announcing his retirement. AFA president Claudio Tapia said the decision was made in discussion with coach Lionel Scaloni so that “the world’s best player, the symbol of our national team, our captain Lionel Andres Messi” could have a proper farewell in Argentina.
The association has also invited the full 2022 World Cup-winning squad and their families to attend what it described as an unforgettable occasion. Messi, Argentina’s all-time leading scorer with 125 goals in 207 appearances, will feature only in the Benin match. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner is set to play a farewell match against Benin at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires on October 6.
Argentina will play two earlier friendlies in the same international window against Bolivia on 30 September in Córdoba and Burkina Faso on 3 October at the Monumental before the farewell fixture. The game at the 85,000-capacity stadium is expected to draw a large crowd as fans mark the end of an era for the player who captained the side to World Cup glory in 2022 and successive Copa America titles.
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