{"id":873743,"date":"2026-10-07T08:54:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T08:54:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/873743\/"},"modified":"2026-10-07T08:54:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T08:54:16","slug":"messi-caps-argentina-farewell-with-a-penalty-and-2-assists-in-a-3-0-win-over-benin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/873743\/","title":{"rendered":"Messi caps Argentina farewell with a penalty and 2 assists in a 3-0 win over Benin"},"content":{"rendered":"

BUENOS AIRES \u2013 Lionel Messi<\/a> turned his official farewell to Argentina<\/a> into a gala performance, contributing a penalty and two assists in a 3-0 win over Benin on Tuesday at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires, where the crowd offered a deafening final ovation to the genius who defined the footballing pulse of a nation for two decades.<\/p>\n

In front of 85,000 fans, the superstar capped off an international career spanning 21 years, 126 goals, a 2022 World Cup victory, and two Copa Am\u00e9rica titles.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a source of great pride to wear this jersey for over 20 years,\u201d Messi told the crowd, speaking into a microphone from the center of the pitch. \u201cI never stopped fighting, never stopped giving my all. I would love to keep coming back forever, because playing for the Argentine national team is the most beautiful thing that can happen to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

His teammates \u2014 many of them overcome with emotion \u2014 along with the coaching staff led by Lionel Scaloni and the fans, gave him a standing ovation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to miss you all. Now I\u2019ll be on your side, supporting the national team and the guys who come next,\u201d Messi promised. \u201cWhen we\u2019re united, we\u2019re stronger than anyone and can overcome anything. Tough times lie ahead, because what this group achieved won\u2019t be easy to repeat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Orchestrating the win<\/p>\n

Following a corner kick taken by Messi, defender Nicol\u00e1s Otamendi connected with a header to open the scoring in the 48th minute. Messi then provided an assist to young talent Nicol\u00e1s Paz, who paid tribute to the star with an exquisite left-foot finish in the 61st.<\/p>\n

Ten minutes later, Messi buried a left-foot penalty into the top corner, adding to his tally as the Albiceleste\u2019s all-time leading scorer. <\/p>\n

\u201cOl\u00e9, ol\u00e9, Messi,\u201d the crowd chanted in his honor.<\/p>\n

Passing the torch <\/p>\n

Despite still playing at a high level at age 39, Messi announced on Aug. 31<\/a> that the end of his time with Argentina was set.<\/p>\n

Messi played his final match \u2014 his 208th for Argentina \u2014 amid a spectacular fireworks display. He wore a special edition Albiceleste jersey featuring wider vertical stripes than the standard design, a giant sun, and a golden No. 10 on the back. The back detail featured a goat\u2019s horns in the print \u2014 a nod to the \u201cGOAT,\u201d referencing both the animal and his status as the \u201cGreatest of All Time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ten minutes after kickoff in the international friendly, the referee paused the match to honor the Argentine captain. Rivals and teammates approached to greet him while fans rose for a standing ovation. Messi raised his hand in acknowledgment.<\/p>\n

After the match ended, he thanked his teammates for the titles they had won and left them with a directive: \u201cWe need to build a strong, united group because there are people who want the national team to fail, and we shouldn\u2019t give them the satisfaction.”<\/p>\n

From heartbreak to World Cup glory<\/p>\n

A successor to the legendary Diego Maradona, Messi made his senior national team debut in 2005. His journey was fraught with frustration until 2022, when he finally lifted the World Cup \u2014 a triumph that secured his place in the pantheon of the sport\u2019s greatest players and cemented his status as a national hero in Argentina.<\/p>\n

Accompanied by his sons Thiago, Mateo, and Ciro, Messi was overcome with emotion as the Argentine national anthem played, sung by a veteran of the 1982 Falklands War. Goalkeeper Emiliano Mart\u00ednez tried to comfort him by placing an arm around his shoulders.<\/p>\n

Devoted fans and moving tributes<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a goodbye, it\u2019s a \u2018farewell forever,\u2019 Captain\u201d \u2014 that was the message Rebeca Arias and Daniel Lema emblazoned on a hat designed for the occasion. On the brim, they drew various depictions of Messi corresponding to each of the six World Cups he contested. The young couple traveled more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from their native Tucum\u00e1n to witness his final performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe this is a unique moment. It\u2019s all worth it \u2014 being here, making the journey we did. Something like this might never happen again with a player,\u201d Arias remarked.<\/p>\n

In the last World Cup, Messi went close to another title, falling just short after a 1-0 defeat to Spain in the final<\/a>. However, the runner-up finish didn’t overshadow his remarkable performance in the tournament \u2014 featuring eight goals and four assists.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe match against England took a huge toll on us; the reality is that we were running on fumes,\u201d he explained, referring to the dramatic 2-1 semifinal victory<\/a>.<\/p>\n

His contribution was so pivotal that Messi has once again entered the conversation for the Ballon d\u2019Or, competing against the two top contenders to succeed him: Spaniard Lamine Yamal and Frenchman Kylian Mbapp\u00e9. <\/p>\n

The Argentine star remains the only footballer to have won the award eight times.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am proud to be Argentine and to have been able to fulfill this dream with all of you,\u201d he concluded, before taking a solitary victory lap to cherish the fans\u2019 final chants of \u201cMessi, Messi.\u201d <\/p>\n

Messi receives honorary doctorate<\/p>\n

Before his farewell at the stadium, Messi received an honorary doctorate from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), a public institution.<\/p>\n

The academic institution presented the honor at the national team\u2019s training complex in the suburb of Ezeiza. The star was awarded a diploma and a medal in recognition of his performance with the national team, as well as his influence both on and off the pitch.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

\nSee AP\u2019s full soccer coverage here<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BUENOS AIRES \u2013 Lionel Messi turned his official farewell to Argentina into a gala performance, contributing a penalty…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":873744,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4,450,367992,325417,8842,451,79622,6865,3,367990,367989,367991,99,452,453],"class_list":["post-873743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-daniel-lema","tag-diego-maradona","tag-emiliano-martinez","tag-headlines","tag-leo-messi","tag-lionel-messi","tag-news","tag-nicolas-otamendi","tag-nicolas-paz","tag-rebeca-arias","tag-sports","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=873743"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873743\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/873744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=873743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=873743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=873743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}