{"id":919103,"date":"2026-10-07T06:44:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T06:44:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/919103\/"},"modified":"2026-10-07T06:44:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T06:44:10","slug":"lionel-messis-last-game-for-argentina-ends-in-triumph-and-tears-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/919103\/","title":{"rendered":"Lionel Messi\u2019s last game for Argentina ends in triumph and tears | Football"},"content":{"rendered":"

Messi scored a goal and created two others as Argentina bid farewell to its most decorated footballer with a 3-0 win.<\/p>\n

Published On 7 Oct 20267 Oct 2026<\/p>\n

Lionel Messi has delivered \u200cone last masterclass in the blue and white of Argentina as its most decorated player and captain, bringing the curtain down \u2060on his extraordinary 21-year \u2060international career by scoring one goal and setting up two others in a 3-0 friendly match against Benin.<\/p>\n

The 39-year-old\u2019s final bow came in front of more than 85,000 fans at a packed \u2060Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires on Tuesday. It was less about football and more of a national celebration of Messi\u2019s service to the national team.<\/p>\n

Landmarks across the capital glowed with the team\u2019s sky blue and white colours, while fireworks lit up the skies above \u2060the heaving stadium as fans poured their hearts into a rendition of Argentina\u2019s national anthem.<\/p>\n

Hours earlier, a huge number 10 shirt emblazoned with \u201cGracias\u201d, or \u201cThank You\u201d, was unfurled at the National Flag Memorial in Rosario, Messi\u2019s hometown.<\/p>\n

\"ThisA giant shirt marking Lionel Messi\u2019s farewell was displayed in his hometown at the National Flag Memorial in Rosario [Marcelo Manera\/AFP]<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to talk,\u201d said Messi, whose family watched proudly from the stands alongside some of Argentina\u2019s World Cup winners of 1978, 1986 and 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of emotions, a lot of things going through my head. The first thing I think about is \u200cmy old man,\u201d he added, referring to the recent death of his father.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a huge source of pride for me to wear this shirt all this time, more than 20 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot coming any more is going to hurt a lot. I swear, I\u2019d love to keep coming my whole life, because playing for Argentina is the most beautiful thing that can happen to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the team bus travelled from the training \u2060centre bearing his name, Messi wiped away tears as thousands lined the route.<\/p>\n

When \u2060the teams took the pitch, Benin\u2019s captain looked lost for words as he handed Messi a gift and letter during the pre-match handshake.<\/p>\n

After a goalless first half, Messi supplied an assist for Nicolas Otamendi to tap home Argentina\u2019s opener. Otamendi spent 17 years with Messi in \u2060\u2060the national team, including four World Cups, and was also ending his international career.<\/p>\n

Messi then set up Nico Paz, one of the players seen as a potential successor \u2060for Argentina\u2019s number 10 shirt, to score the second goal.<\/p>\n

In a \u2060fairytale ending, Messi converted a penalty for 3-0, his 126th international goal, prompting another round of \u201cMessi, Messi\u201d chants from the crowd.<\/p>\n

\"Argentina'sMessi takes a free kick [Luis Robayo\/AFP]<\/p>\n

At the final whistle, teammates, opponents and the referee gathered around Messi for embraces before a drone show lit up the sky. Argentinian singer Soledad Pastorutti, known \u200cas \u201cLa Sole\u201d, then sang her signature \u201cBrindis\u201d as part of a tribute to Messi and his journey with the national team.<\/p>\n

Messi leaves as the country\u2019s most-capped player (208) and record scorer, having transformed years of frustration on the international stage \u200cinto \u200ca story of World Cup and Copa America triumphs.<\/p>\n

For years, Argentina asked Messi to deliver. On Tuesday, it simply came to say \u201cThank You\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Messi scored a goal and created two others as Argentina bid farewell to its most decorated footballer with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":919104,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[12910,64,63,596,2186,588,85],"class_list":["post-919103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-argentina","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-football","tag-latin-america","tag-sport","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/919103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=919103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/919103\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/919104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=919103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=919103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=919103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}