Lionel Messi will make his final appearance for Argentina tonight as the 2022 World Cup winners host Benin in Buenos Aires. The football icon will bid farewell to a glittering international career that spanned over two decades and included three major trophies.
In the early hours of Wednesday morning UK time, Messi will earn his 208th and last cap in the friendly at the Monumental Stadium. The 39-year-old will still continue his club career with MLS side Inter Miami, but his time with La Albiceleste will end when the final whistle is blown.
Those who want to tune into the friendly can do so via Premier Sports in the UK and Ireland, as international football says goodbye to one of its biggest stars.
Debut Disappointment and No. 10 Resurgence
Thankfully, Argentina fans did not write Messi off after his senior debut for the national team. In 2005, the then-18-year-old rising star was named on the bench for a friendly against Hungary. In the 64th minute, Messi entered the game and earned his first cap as he replaced Lisandro Lopez. Just seconds later, the youngster was sent for an early shower after being shown a red card by referee Markus Merk for violent conduct. He caught Hungarian defender Vilmos Vanczak in the face with his arm after initially being fouled. Argentina won the game 2-1 but it wasn't the best of beginnings in blue and white.
After a tough start in an Argentina shirt, Messi grew into his role as a rising star. By 2009, he had racked up 20 goal contributions in 36 appearances and was handed a new squad number. Juan Roman Riquelme had retired from international football, leaving the No. 10 vacant. The iconic Diego Maradona, who was Argentina's manager at the time, gave his old number to Messi and hailed the youngster as the new version of himself. Maradona told Ole at the time: "Messi is my Maradona. There is no other player more important than Messi. I could say that in my team, there is Messi and 10 others."
Despite the honour, Messi struggled to find the same run of form at major tournaments that Maradona had shown. At the 2010 World Cup, the forward only managed one assist as Argentina were dumped out at the quarter-final stage with a 4-0 loss to Germany. He also failed to score at the 2011 Copa America as they were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Uruguay, losing 6-5 on penalties.
Golden Ball and Retirement Statement
Messi began to find better form as he made 40 goal contributions between the 2010 and 2014 World Cups. He captained Argentina at the World Cup in South Africa and led them all the way to the final, scoring four goals and assisting once. These numbers earned him the Golden Ball as the top-scorer of the tournament, but the end result wasn't what he hoped for. Despite Messi's best efforts, Germany were crowned world champions for the fourth time after Mario Gotze struck in extra time to secure the trophy.
Messi has previously retired from international duty, shutting down his career with Argentina in 2016. The former Barcelona star stepped down after losing a fourth major final in nine years, at which point he had only the 2008 Olympic gold medal to his name internationally. At the time, Messi had lost three Copa America finals - twice to Chile and once to Brazil - while falling at the final hurdle at the 2014 World Cup to Germany. After his second shootout loss to Chile, the defeated star said: "For me, the national team is over. I've done all I can. It hurts not to be a champion."
Obviously, Messi went back on his word months later after rallies in Buenos Aires helped him return to the team. Confirming his comeback to the squad, the icon said: "Many things went through my head on the day of the final and I thought seriously about leaving it but I love my country and this shirt too much. I see that there are a lot of problems in Argentine football and I’m not trying to create another one. I don’t want to cause any harm. I have always tried to do the opposite, to help in any way that I can."
Corruption Allegation and Return to Glory
Three years after his first retirement, Messi was in the headlines again after he claimed Argentina were victims of corruption during the Copa America tournament. In their third-place play-off win over Chile, the ex-Paris Saint-Germain star was sent off in the first half after a confrontation with opponent Gary Medel. Messi felt hard done by and refused to take part in the medal ceremony, telling Spanish media outlet AS after the game: "We don’t need to be part of the corruption that we’ve suffered at this tournament. Medel is always right at the limit."
Shortly after Messi's words, Conmebol - South America's football confederation - released a statement urging players to "accept the results with loyalty and respect." In the statement, which didn't mention Messi by name, read: "The same goes for refereeing decisions, which are human and will always be improvable. It is unacceptable that as a result of incidents typical in competitions, involving 12 teams, all on equal terms, unfounded accusations have been launched that lack the truth and question the integrity of the Copa America. These accusations represent a lack of respect for the competition, all the participating players and the hundreds of professionals of Conmebol, an institution that since 2016 has been working tirelessly to make transparent, professionalise and develop South American football."
After losing three Copa America finals, Messi finally got his hands on the continental crown, his first senior international trophy in 2021. The attacker captained his country to a 1-0 win over Brazil at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, with Angel Di Maria scoring the winner in the 22nd minute. Messi was named player of the tournament after nine goal contributions throughout. He made it back-to-back Copa America titles in 2024 despite going off injured in the final. Argentina beat Colombia 1-0 after extra time, with Lautaro Martinez finding the net in the 112th minute. Messi was subbed off in the second half with an ankle injury but recovered in time to celebrate the win with his teammates.
Winning the World Cup and Final Chapter
With a Copa America under his arm, Messi went on to write his name into Argentina's history books forever in 2022. The team entered the World Cup as favourites following their near miss against Germany in 2014 and round-of-16 knockout to France in 2018. They lost their opening group match against Saudi Arabia before rallying back to beat Mexico and Poland. A win over Australia followed before one of the games of the tournament against the Netherlands. Messi's side were 2-0 up and flying by the 80th minute but two goals from Wout Weghorst pegged them back and sent the game to extra-time. The two teams got into fiery clashes on several occasions but the Argentina players' reaction to the penalty shootout win produced an iconic moment of celebration and defeat in comparison.
A 3-0 win over Croatia in the semi-finals took Messi back to his then-second-ever World Cup final. Again, Argentina were 2-0 up before Kylian Mbappe threatened the ultimate comeback for France. The game went to extra time at 2-2, before Messi and Mbappe scored one each to make it 3-3 and go to yet another shootout. Kingsley Coman and Aurelien Tchouameni both missed their penalties, with Messi lifting his first - and only - World Cup of his career in Qatar.
Not every moment on the pitch has been flattering for Messi, despite his once-in-a-lifetime talent. In 2023, fans called the Argentina captain the "most protected player ever" after an incident in the team's 2-0 loss to Uruguay in World Cup qualifying. In one incident, Messi clashed with Mathias Olivera and verbally fought with Rodrigo de Paul and Alexis Mac Allister. Messi swung an elbow to Olivera's chest as he arrived, before clutching at his throat and pushing him away. Referee Wilmer Roldan didn't show a card to the Argentina captain, which riled up viewers as they claimed any other player would be given their marching orders for the scuffle.
Once again, Messi was one of the major storylines of the 2026 World Cup. He scored eight goals and assisted four times as Argentina made it to a second successive final to face Spain. But the South Americans' tactics saw them widely condemned. Messi was involved in a viral moment as he engaged in conversation with Spain's Marc Cucurella, appearing to appeal to the referee to get the defender sent off as he covered his mouth while speaking. Enzo Fernandez's red card just before extra-time proved costly as Spain's relentless pressure finally paid off when Ferran Torres scored the winner in the 106th minute. Ugly scenes after the full-time whistle, with multiple Argentina players being involved in skirmishes, further tarnished their name.
It was after this match that Messi confirmed his official retirement from the Argentina squad, citing a new era for the national team after his exit. In the statement, the 39-year-old said: "After the time that has passed since the final, and after giving it a lot of thought, I want to let everyone know that I am retiring from the national team. It was a decision that hurt-and still hurts deep down - but I understand that the time has come. I swear to you that I always gave it my all-not just in these last few years when we won everything, but before that too; I always fought and left everything on the field for this jersey, to bring you joy and make you feel proud to be Argentine through football. Time is running short, chapters come to a close, and this is one that hurts me deeply. I love, have loved, and will always love being part of the national team. I've given everything I had; I have nothing left to give, and besides, there are some great young players coming up who deserve to be here."
