Buenos Aires: Lionel Messi is set to play his final match for Argentina on Tuesday when the team faces Benin in a friendly at Buenos Aires' Monumental Stadium, bringing down the curtain on an international career spanning more than two decades.
The 39-year-old leaves behind an extraordinary legacy, having led Argentina to the 2022 World Cup title and two Copa América triumphs in 2021 and 2024. He also featured in the 2014 and 2026 World Cup finals, won Olympic gold in 2008 and is Argentina's all-time leading scorer with 125 goals.
The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner became the leader of a new generation under coach Lionel Scaloni, who believes Argentina can maintain its status among the world's top teams after Messi's departure.
“Messi leaves behind something unequaled,” Scaloni said. “We have to keep playing, but the feeling of having him on the pitch is unique. I've never seen anyone else convey what he does on a football field, and that is what we're going to miss.”
Scaloni, who is in advanced negotiations to renew his contract for another four years, added: “The Argentine national team will endure. We will remain at a high level, I have no doubt about that.”
Argentina have already offered glimpses of life without Messi, winning their first two post-World Cup matches without him against Bolivia 4-0 and Burkina Faso 7-0.
Established players including Emiliano Martínez, Cristian Romero, Enzo Fernández and Lautaro Martínez have been joined by a younger generation featuring midfielders Nicolás Paz and Franco Mastantuono and wingers Gianluca Prestianni and Leonel Flores.
Flores, a Boca Juniors youth player, made his professional debut just two months ago and has already represented the senior national team.
“There's a changing of the guard; maybe we have to play differently now, not thinking in terms of Messi and 10 others, but rather as a unified team,” supporter Cristian Versalles, 55, told the AP.
His 23-year-old son Ramiro said the number of emerging players gave him confidence about Argentina's future, identifying Paz as Messi's ‘heir apparent’. Paz, who plays for Italian club Como, was among the scorers against Burkina Faso.
Lautaro Martínez, meanwhile, moved to third on Argentina's all-time scoring list with his goal against Burkina Faso, taking his tally to 42.
Messi's relationship with Argentina began when he was a teenager developing in Barcelona. While Spain tried to persuade him to represent the country, Argentine football authorities initially had limited awareness of the youngster.
He made two appearances in Under-20 friendlies in 2004 and featured at the 2005 Under-20 World Cup in the Netherlands, where he started on the bench in Argentina's opening defeat.
His early international career was marked by criticism that he could not reproduce his club form for Argentina, with some fans calling him ‘pecho frio’, or lacking heart.
A 2011 World Cup qualifier against Colombia helped change that perception. Five years later, Messi briefly retired from international football after Argentina lost the Copa América final to Chile on penalties, but Argentines urged him to return.
He went on to emerge from Diego Maradona's immense shadow and establish a legacy of his own, culminating in the Copa América titles and World Cup triumph.
Fans gathered in Buenos Aires on Sunday to collect tickets for Messi's final Argentina match, with many describing a mixture of sadness and gratitude.
“I never imagined this moment would come, having to witness Messi's retirement,” said Diego Martin Odoguardi, a 37-year-old mechanic. “We would want him to continue forever, with these colours. But he's already given us everything. We can't ask any more of him.”
Viviana Brun, 58, said she hoped Messi would receive the best possible send-off, while Paul Guerrero, a 29-year-old Venezuelan living in Argentina, said he expected Tuesday to be emotional.
Ten-year-old fan Uzzi Rivero arrived wearing the No. 19 jersey, the same number Messi wore for his senior Argentina debut in 2005.
“It makes me really sad that he doesn't play for Argentina anymore,” Rivero said.
Argentina's match against Benin will be the team's third international friendly under Scaloni during the current FIFA window.
The world will find out at the 2028 Copa América whether Argentina can maintain its dominance without the player who defined its football for more than two decades.(With agency inputs from AP via PTI & Reuters)