Messi plays final Argentina match before 85,000 fans at Monumental

Lionel Messi will play his final match in an Argentina shirt on Tuesday evening against Benin at the Monumental stadium of River Plate, ending an international career spanning 208 caps, 125 goals and 68 assists.

The match will be played to a full house with 85,000 spectators, but demand has far exceeded the stadium’s capacity. According to Ariel Senosiain, an Argentine commentator on TyC Sports for the past twelve years, more than half a million people logged into the online ticketing system simultaneously to try to obtain a seat. “If the stadium had 200,000 seats, I have no doubt it would be full too,” he said.

For those who did not secure a ticket, the Argentine federation will set up a fan zone around the Monumental. On the pitch, the Albiceleste players will wear a shirt with special gold lettering designed for the occasion. The 2022 World Cup champions not included in the squad will be invited with their families to attend the farewell ceremony.

Senosiain emphasizes that Messi will receive a tribute that Diego Maradona did not receive during his lifetime. “There is a very special atmosphere and a lot of anticipation,” he said, summing up the mood of an entire nation.

With Argentina, Messi won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and two Copa America titles (2021, 2024), ending twenty-eight years of continental drought. He leaves the national team as its all-time leading goalscorer, far ahead of all his predecessors.