Lionel Messi is preparing to wear the Argentina shirt for the final time, bringing an extraordinary international career to its closing night in Buenos Aires. The setting could hardly be more fitting, with the Estadio Monumental expected to welcome a huge crowd for a farewell that brings together the teammates who helped him conquer world football and a younger generation preparing to take the team forward.
Messi’s final Argentina appearance comes at the Monumental
Messi will make his final appearance for Argentina against Benin at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires on Tuesday, October 6, with Indian viewers able to watch the match in the early hours of Wednesday, October 7.Kick-off is scheduled for 4:30 AM IST, while the game will stream live on ZEE5 in India and will not be televised live on Indian television.The farewell will bring an estimated 85,000 spectators to the Monumental, with members of Argentina’s 2022 World Cup-winning squad and their families also expected to attend the occasion. Several players from that historic team will share the pitch with Messi one final time, alongside members of the emerging generation that will eventually inherit the responsibility of carrying Argentina forward.
Argentina’s Lionel Messi (10) cries at the end of the World Cup final soccer match between Spain and Argentina in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Benin, ranked 93rd in the world, will provide the opposition in what is officially an international friendly, although the occasion will carry considerably greater significance for the hosts than the result itself.Messi’s international career now stands at 207 appearances and 125 goals for Argentina, making him the country’s record appearance-maker and leading scorer, while his 68 assists also represent a national record.
A career that eventually brought Messi everything with Argentina
For much of Messi’s early international career, his relationship with Argentina was complicated, particularly after painful defeats in the 2014 World Cup final and the 2015 and 2016 Copa America finals.The turning point came with the 2021 Copa America, when Messi finally lifted a senior international trophy with Argentina, before adding the 2022 Finalissima and the World Cup in Qatar later that year. He then helped Argentina retain the Copa America title in 2024, completing an extraordinary run of major honours with the national team.His farewell arrives two and a half months after Argentina’s 2026 World Cup final defeat by Spain in New Jersey, where Messi left the pitch in tears after struggling to influence the contest.Lionel Scaloni, the coach who built the side around Messi and found the supporting cast that helped Argentina finally end their long wait for major international success, will also oversee the farewell to 38-year-old vice-captain Nicolás Otamendi.Midfielders Rodrigo De Paul and Giovani Lo Celso were called up specifically for the Benin match, meaning Tuesday could also mark their final appearances for Argentina.Messi remains under contract with Inter Miami until 2028, although he has recently acknowledged that his playing career could end sooner than expected following the death of his father, Jorge, two months ago.
When and where can fans in India watch Messi’s farewell?
The Argentina-Benin friendly will take place at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires on Tuesday, October 6, while the time difference means the match falls in the early hours of Wednesday for viewers in India.Match: Argentina vs BeninDate: Tuesday, October 6, 2026India date: Wednesday, October 7, 2026Kick-off: 4:30 AM ISTVenue: Estadio Monumental, Buenos AiresLive streaming in India: ZEE5Live television in India: No live TV broadcastThe match is expected to provide Messi with the farewell Argentina supporters have long imagined, with the players and families from the 2022 World Cup-winning team joining him for the occasion while Scaloni prepares to move into the next chapter without the captain who defined the previous one.
