The Last Dance: Lionel Messi Prepares to Say Goodbye to Argentina

For more than two decades, Lionel Messi has carried Argentina’s famous No. 10 shirt through joy, heartbreak, criticism and, eventually, glory. On Tuesday night, he will wear it for the final time. Argentina will face Benin in a friendly at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires on Tuesday evening, but this will be no ordinary international match. For thousands inside the stadium, and millions watching around the world, the result will almost feel secondary. The night belongs to Messi, the greatest footballer of all time.

At 39, the Argentina captain is preparing to close a chapter that began more than 20 years ago. He enters his farewell as his country’s record appearance-maker and record goalscorer, with 125 goals in 207 matches. His final appearance will take him to 208 caps. But numbers alone cannot tell the story of Messi and Argentina. It has been a journey of pressure, painful defeats, questions about his loyalty, a brief retirement, a remarkable comeback and, finally, the trophies he spent so many years chasing.

A difficult beginning

Messi’s senior Argentina career began in August 2005, when an 18-year-old came off the bench against Hungary. It could hardly have started in a more unusual way. Only moments after entering the field, Messi was sent off following an incident with defender Vilmos Vanczak. His first appearance for his country was over almost as soon as it had begun. Nobody could have known then that the teenager walking off the pitch would go on to play more games and score more goals for Argentina than anyone else.

Messi had already shown his talent at youth level, helping Argentina win the 2005 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Olympic gold followed in Beijing in 2008.

Success with the senior team, however, proved much harder to find.

When Argentina questioned its greatest talent

Messi became a superstar at Barcelona, winning trophies and producing performances that placed him among football’s greatest players. Back home, however, the relationship was more complicated. The question followed him for years: Why could Messi dominate with Barcelona but not win a major senior trophy with Argentina?

Comparisons with Diego Maradona made the pressure even heavier. Maradona had led Argentina to the 1986 World Cup, and Messi was expected to do something similar. He came painfully close. Argentina reached the 2014 World Cup final, only to lose 1-0 to Germany after extra time. A year later, Argentina lost the Copa América final to Chile on penalties. Then came another penalty-shootout defeat against Chile in the 2016 Copa América Centenario final.

That defeat appeared to break him. Messi missed his penalty in the shootout and announced that his time with the national team was over. For a player who had achieved almost everything at club level, his Argentina career seemed destined to be remembered for what was missing. Thankfully for Argentina, that was not the end.

Messi returns

Messi reversed his decision and returned to the national team. There were more difficult moments ahead, including Argentina’s chaotic 2018 World Cup campaign. But under Lionel Scaloni, something began to change.

Argentina became a more settled team, while Messi seemed increasingly comfortable as its leader.

Then, in 2021, the moment he had waited so long for finally arrived.

Argentina defeated Brazil 1-0 at the Maracanã in the Copa America final. Angel Di María scored the only goal, and when the final whistle sounded, Messi dropped to his knees. His teammates quickly surrounded him. After so many defeats in Argentina colors, Messi was finally a senior international champion. It was more than another trophy. It changed the story of his international career.

Qatar completed the journey

If the 2021 Copa America lifted a weight from Messi’s shoulders, the 2022 World Cup in Qatar completed his journey. Argentina's tournament actually began with disaster. Saudi Arabia stunned the South American champions with a 2-1 victory in their opening game. From there, Argentina had little room for another mistake.

Messi responded. He scored a vital goal against Mexico and continued to influence the tournament as Argentina moved through the knockout rounds. Against the Netherlands in a dramatic quarterfinal, he scored and assisted before Argentina survived a penalty shootout. Against Croatia in the semifinal, he produced one of the tournament’s defining moments, beating Joško Gvardiol before setting up Julián Álvarez.

Then came France. Messi scored twice in an extraordinary final that finished 3-3 after extra time. Argentina eventually won the penalty shootout, and Messi finally lifted the World Cup. The image of him holding the trophy became the picture many Argentines had waited years to see. Messi was no longer the superstar who had failed to win with his country. He was Argentina’s World Cup-winning captain.

One more chapter

The success did not stop in Qatar. Argentina had already won the Finalissima against Italy in 2022, and in 2024 Messi and his teammates added another Copa America title. Even at 39, he returned for one final World Cup in 2026. Messi scored eight goals and provided four assists as Argentina reached another final, but there would be no repeat of Qatar. Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 after extra time.

On August 31, Messi announced his international retirement. He explained that the decision hurt, but that he felt the time had come. He also spoke about having given everything for the Argentina shirt throughout his career, including during the years when trophies refused to come. The Argentine Football Association then invited its captain back for one final appearance in front of his own people.

One last night in Buenos Aires

And so the journey ends at the Monumental. Messi will face Benin in his 208th and final international appearance. Players from Argentina’s 2022 World Cup-winning team and their families are expected to be part of the farewell celebrations.

There will be plenty of statistics to remember: 125 goals, more than 200 appearances, two Copa América titles, the Finalissima and, above everything else, the 2022 World Cup.

But Messi’s Argentina story has always been about more than numbers.

It is about an 18-year-old whose international debut lasted only moments. It is about the young superstar who was constantly compared with Maradona. It is about the man who lost final after final and briefly believed he could give no more to his country. And it is about the captain who came back.

He came back to win the Copa America. He came back to lift the World Cup. He stayed long enough to turn years of frustration into one of the most celebrated periods in Argentina’s football history. On Tuesday, there will be no need to ask whether Messi has done enough for Argentina.

That debate ended long ago.

When the final whistle sounds at the Monumental, Lionel Messi will walk away from international football as Argentina’s record scorer, record appearance-maker and a World Cup-winning captain. For the last time, Argentina’s No. 10 will belong to Lionel Messi.

And this time, the only thing left to say is simple: Gracias, Leo.