Messi's Last Tango: Farewell Match Against Benin Set for a Sold-Out Monumental

The goodbye is almost here. Lionel Messi will play his 208th and final match for Argentina on Tuesday, October 6, when La Albiceleste host Benin in a farewell friendly at the Estadio Más Monumental in Buenos Aires, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. ET.

Messi, 39, arrived at Argentina's Ezeiza training base on Sunday after landing in Rosario on Friday with his family, and announced his international retirement on August 31 — just over two months after Argentina's World Cup final defeat to Spain in New Jersey. The match, built entirely around "The Last Tango," sold out in under two hours, and a special farewell jersey has been created for the occasion. Members of the 2022 World Cup-winning squad have been invited back to join the celebration.

His numbers tell the story of an era: a record 207 caps and 125 goals, plus a national-record 68 assists, crowned by the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, two Copa América titles and the 2022 Finalissima. Benin, ranked 89th by FIFA and coached by former Nigeria boss Gernot Rohr, will provide the opposition. Messi's club career with Inter Miami continues, but this is where the sky-blue-and-white chapter ends.