{"id":2504,"date":"2026-10-07T08:36:40","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T08:36:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/2026\/10\/07\/messi-ends-international-career-with-goal\/"},"modified":"2026-10-07T08:36:40","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T08:36:40","slug":"messi-ends-international-career-with-goal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/2026\/10\/07\/messi-ends-international-career-with-goal\/","title":{"rendered":"Messi Ends International Career with Goal in 3-0 Win Over Benin"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<!-- Quick Adsense WordPress Plugin: http:\/\/quickadsense.com\/ -->\n<div class=\"9fece8afa224fd09e54b043d0febfb58\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:10px 0 10px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- NR ATF -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8898941184964366\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"4839033563\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p>On Tuesday, October 6, 2026, Lionel Messi closed a 21\u2011year international career with Argentina by helping the Albiceleste to a 3\u20110 victory over Benin in a friendly at the Monumental Stadium. Playing his record\u2011extending 208th match for the country, the 39\u2011year\u2011old forward opened the scoring tally with a penalty in the 71st minute, marking his 126th international goal \u2013 also a record. In addition to the spot\u2011kick, Messi supplied the assists for both of Argentina\u2019s other goals, set\u2011up veteran Nicolas Otamendi for the opener and Nico Paz for the third\u2011minute strike.<\/p>\n<h2>Farewell Match at the Monumental Stadium<\/h2>\n<p>The event, billed as \u201cThe Last Tango,\u201d was designed as a final celebration of Messi\u2019s contributions to Argentine football. Before kickoff, a massive jersey bearing the word \u201cGracias\u201d and Messi\u2019s iconic No.\u202f10 was laid on the pitch, prompting a roar from the packed crowd. The match itself was briefly paused in the 10th minute for a minute\u2011long ovation to the former Barcelona and Paris Saint\u2011Germain star, a tribute to his legendary shirt number.<\/p>\n<p>Messi entered the field accompanied by his three children and was greeted by affectionate waves from his wife, Antonela Roccuzzo, and his mother, Celia Cuccittini, who watched from a VIP box. Earlier, the Argentine national team\u2019s bus had been stopped by crowds of well\u2011wishers, during which Messi was seen wiping away tears.<\/p>\n<h2>Emotional Moments and Tributes<\/h2>\n<p>The atmosphere was charged with emotion. Falklands War veteran Fabio Santana sang the national anthem beside a banner reading \u201cThe Malvinas are Argentine,\u201d echoing the flag raised after Argentina\u2019s 2\u20111 semi\u2011final win over England in the 2022 World Cup. After the final whistle, a drone display illuminated the night sky with Messi\u2019s silhouette and a message of thanks to the eight\u2011time Ballon d\u2019Or winner.<\/p>\n<p>Outside the Argentine Football Association headquarters, supporters unfurled a huge national flag featuring Messi\u2019s image and the phrase \u201cThe joy of my life.\u201d The University of Buenos Aires also honored the player with an honorary doctorate in a ceremony held at the AFA offices before the match. Messi, who has previously expressed regret over not pursuing more formal education, joked about the distinction, saying, \u201cTo be able to say that I am an honorary doctor!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Former Barcelona teammate Neymar posted a tribute on X, stating, \u201cIt\u2019s not just Argentina that thanks you, the world thanks you for everything you did for football. Thank you for making me love football even more.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Career Highlights and Future Outlook<\/h2>\n<p>Messi announced his retirement in August after Argentina\u2019s World Cup final loss to Spain in New Jersey, a 1\u20110 defeat that ended the tournament in an ill\u2011tempered match. In a statement at the time, he wrote, \u201cI gave it my all; I have nothing left to give, and besides, there are great young players coming up who deserve their chance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>During his tenure with the Albiceleste, Messi helped Argentina win one World Cup (2022), finish runners\u2011up twice (Brazil 2014 and North America 2026), and capture Copa Am\u00e9rica titles in 2021 and 2024. The friendly against Benin therefore served as a symbolic bookend to a career that included 208 caps, 126 goals, and a record number of assists.<\/p>\n<p>While his international chapter has closed, Messi remains under contract with Inter Miami through 2028. However, following the death of his father, Jorge, two months earlier, the Argentine forward hinted that he may consider ending his club career sooner than planned.<\/p>\n<p>Fans and commentators alike reflected on the magnitude of his contributions. \u201cI believe Messi gave everything, absolutely everything, so it doesn\u2019t bother me at all that he\u2019s leaving. He has more than earned it, let him enjoy himself, let him rest,\u201d said 52\u2011year\u2011old Cecilia Adriano to AFP.<\/p>\n<p>Messi\u2019s farewell not only marked the end of an era for Argentine football but also underscored the deep personal connection he forged with supporters across the nation. As the drone lights faded, the stadium echoed with gratitude, a fitting tribute to a player widely regarded as the greatest in football history.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lionel Messi retired from Argentina&#8217;s national team after a 3-0 friendly victory over Benin, scoring a penalty and providing two assists in his final appearance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2505,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[1863,2746,1862,1865,1864],"class_list":["post-2504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-argentina","tag-international-football","tag-lionel-messi","tag-retirement","tag-world-cup","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2504"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2504\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}