A night of tributes at the Monumental
Argentina defeated Benin 3-0 at the Monumental in a match that marked Lionel Messi's farewell from the Albiceleste, played before more than 80,000 supporters of the number ten. The Chilean referee Fernando Véjar officiated the game at River's stadium, a special evening for Lionel Scaloni's squad. The action was stopped in the tenth minute so the stands could honour Messi, accompanied by a fireworks display; the crowd gave the Rosario-born player a deafening ovation while Benin's players came over to embrace him.[S1]
Earlier in the day, Messi was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Buenos Aires at the Argentine Football Association's training complex in Ezeiza. Rector Ricardo Gelpi, vice-rector Emiliano Yacobitti, officials from the various faculties and AFA president Claudio took part in the ceremony.[S1]
Argentina's goals and Messi's decisive role
Argentina took the lead three minutes into the second half when Messi delivered a cross from the left and Nicolás Otamendi met it with a header that beat goalkeeper Marcel Dandjinou. The combination between the two world champions set off celebrations at the Monumental. In the seventh minute Scaloni withdrew Otamendi, the scorer of the opening goal, along with Nicolás Tagliafico; the defender hugged each of his teammates before leaving the pitch to another ovation, with Facundo Medina and Lisandro Martínez coming on.[S1]
The lead grew through another Messi intervention. In the fifteenth minute he set up Nicolás Paz, who received inside the area, cut inside and struck a precise left-footed shot that finished beside the Benin goalkeeper's post, making it 2-0 on a night defined by the tribute to the number ten. In the twenty-third minute Agustín Giay was fouled hard inside the area and referee Fernando Véjar awarded Argentina a penalty. Messi took the ball and converted with a precise strike to make it 3-0.[S1]
After the penalty, Messi's teammates gathered beside the goal to celebrate with their captain, ending in a group embrace around the Rosario-born player while the Monumental offered another ovation. Argentina, leading 3-0, kept looking to extend the margin. In the thirty-third minute Scaloni made four changes: Leonel Flores replaced Lautaro Martínez, Giovani Lo Celso came on for Alexis Mac Allister, Franco Mastantuono took Enzo Fernández's place and Exequiel Palacios replaced Cristian Romero.[S1]
Late on, Argentina sought one last chance for Messi to score again in his farewell before the home crowd. In the forty-third minute he had a very clear opportunity, but a Benin defender's intervention and the post prevented a fourth goal. Even so, the number ten completed another unforgettable night with two assists and one goal.[S1]
A first half of chances and resistance
Argentina dominated possession from the start and settled in Benin's half, but the African side showed more resources than expected and made the Albiceleste uncomfortable at times, especially when it recovered the ball and broke quickly on the counter. In the sixth minute Messi had the first clear chance of the night, receiving at the edge of the area, cutting onto his left foot and forcing Dandjinou into a save; Enzo Fernández followed up on the rebound but the Benin goalkeeper again kept his goal intact.[S1]
Benin's first important opportunity came in the sixteenth minute from a set piece, when Aiyegun Tosin won the ball in the air inside the area and headed wide. Two minutes later the visitors came closer still: Argentina lost possession on the left, Junior Olaïtan beat Nicolás Otamendi to the position and shot first time, the ball passing near Dibu Martínez's goal. Argentina then regained control with Messi as the main protagonist; in the twenty-third minute Rodrigo De Paul looked for him with a ball to the far post and the number ten reached it without precision, and three minutes later Messi took a free kick that Dandjinou turned away to keep the score at 0-0.[S1]
Towards the end of the first half Benin again created danger and forced Emiliano Martínez to react to a shot, while Argentina responded shortly afterwards and regained the attacking initiative without turning its approaches into the goal it sought during a first half with end-to-end passages. The teams went into the break level at 0-0, with the Albiceleste having produced the clearest situations, especially through Messi, who was active and chasing a goal in his last appearance for Argentina in front of his own fans.[S1]
A 21-year career ends
The match was an unforgettable occasion in which football gave way to raw emotion, as Messi ended his Argentina career after 21 years of a brilliant trajectory. In a full and shaken Monumental, Scaloni's team beat Benin 3-0 in an international friendly that marked the definitive close of a stellar era for world football. The Rosario-born captain, honoured before, during and after the game, delivered another sublime performance and proved decisive in each of the goals that broke the resistance of the combative African side.[S2]
The scoring route ran through the number ten's delivery. First he sent a precise cross to Nicolás Otamendi, another successful veteran leaving the national team, who volleyed in the opener. Minutes later the captain's link-up play paid off again when he assisted the young Nico Paz to extend the lead in Núñez. The finishing touch on a perfect night came from the penalty spot, where Messi struck the ball to seal the definitive 3-0 and his last goal in the Albiceleste shirt.[S2]
The closing stretch produced an image full of symbolism for the national team's history: the Rosario-born star finished the match surrounded on the pitch by many of the squad's young players, marking the handover and the path towards the future of Scaloni's team on an unforgettable evening.[S2]
