Lionel Messi will play his final match for Argentina against Benin at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires on Tuesday 6 October 2026. For it, adidas built a shirt that will never be worn again: sky blue with one broad white stripe, the number 10 in gold, and the Sun of May spread across the back. Messi revealed it himself with five words — “One last match. A jersey for a lifetime.”
The short answer
What: Messi’s final appearance for Argentina — his 208th cap.
When: Tuesday 6 October 2026.
Where: Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, River Plate’s ground.
Opponent: Benin, in an international friendly.
The shirt: a one-off adidas design — sky blue with a single white stripe down the centre, gold MESSI 10 and the Sun of May on the back, and Messi’s own ‘M’ logo in place of the adidas performance mark. It is not a replica of the 2026 World Cup kit; it was built for one night.
What the farewell shirt actually looks like
The shirt is not an Argentina home kit with a commemorative badge stitched on. Almost every element has been redrawn. Argentina’s traditional sky-blue shirt carries a run of vertical white bands; this one carries a single broad white stripe down the centre of the chest, which leaves the front panel open for the Sun of May rays that radiate across it.
The most personal detail is on the right chest. Where the adidas performance logo normally sits, this shirt carries Messi’s own ‘M’ mark in metallic gold. On the opposite side the AFA crest is finished in the same gold, with the three stars of Argentina’s World Cup wins above it. The collar and cuffs are black with gold edging, and the back carries MESSI 10 in gold inside a sunburst, with a small Sun of May emblem sitting just below the rear collar.
| Element | What it is |
|---|---|
| Base colour | Sky blue, with a single broad white stripe down the centre instead of Argentina’s usual run of vertical bands. |
| Front panel | Soft rays taken from the Sun of May radiate outward, so the pattern shifts as the shirt moves. |
| Right chest | Messi’s ‘M’ logo in metallic gold — where the adidas performance mark normally sits. |
| Left chest | The AFA crest, finished in gold and carrying the three stars. |
| Collar and cuffs | Black crew neck and sleeve cuffs, both edged in gold. |
| Back | MESSI 10 in gold, set inside a large sunburst. |
| Under the rear collar | A small Sun of May emblem. |
| Status | A match shirt for one night, not a replica of the 2026 World Cup kit. |
Sources describe the shirt as a wearable send-off rather than a version of the kit Argentina wore in the 2026 World Cup final. It exists for one match.
The shirt is on sale in three fits
The farewell design is available in separate Men’s, Women’s and Youth listings. All three carry the same print options — MESSI 10, Blank if you would rather have no name or number, or Your Name if you want your own — and all three are priced the same.
The same shirt, three fits
- Fit
- Men’s, Women’s and Youth — three separate listings, one design
- Blank · MESSI 10 · Your Name
- Sizes
- Men’s and Youth run to 7 sizes, Women’s to 8
- Price
- $47.77 across all three fits
- Shirt
- Sky blue, single white centre stripe, gold MESSI 10, Sun of May on the back
The match: Argentina vs Benin
The fixture is an international friendly rather than a competitive match, which matters for how to read it. There is no group table, no qualifying stake and no consequence for Argentina beyond the occasion itself: the Argentine Football Association arranged a home date specifically so that Messi could finish on home soil, in front of his own crowd, rather than in a neutral stadium or away from Argentina altogether.
AFA president Claudio Tapia set the tone when the call-up was confirmed: “We made the decision to invite the best player in the world, the symbol of our national team, our captain, Lionel Andrés Messi, so that he can have the farewell he truly deserves on October 6 here in Argentina.” He called it “the last tango of the best player in the world”.
It closes a three-match window. Argentina play twice before it, and Messi is not involved in either game — the plan as reported is that he joins up only for the Benin match, keeping the whole of his goodbye for one night.
| Date | Match | Venue | Messi |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 September 2026 | Argentina vs Bolivia | Córdoba | Not playing |
| 3 October 2026 | Argentina vs Burkina Faso | Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires | Not playing |
| 6 October 2026 | Argentina vs Benin | Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires | Final appearance |
All three fixtures are friendlies. Dates are local to Argentina.
Where to go next
The farewell shirt sits at the centre of a much longer Argentina and Messi catalogue — the 2026/27 home and away kits, the club shirts from his time at Barcelona and Inter Miami, and the wider national team range.
Twenty-one years in numbers
Messi leaves as Argentina’s most-capped player and its record scorer, and the gap to whoever comes next is not close. These are the figures he takes with him into the Benin match.
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| First cap | 17 August 2005, vs Hungary, aged 18 |
| Caps before the farewell | 207 |
| Caps after the farewell | 208 — an Argentina record |
| International goals | 125 — an Argentina record |
| Assists | 68 |
| Goals at World Cups | 21 |
| World Cup finals played | 3 — 2014, 2022, 2026 (won 2022) |
| Copa América titles | 2 — 2021 and 2024 |
| Other senior honours | Finalissima 2022, Olympic gold 2008 |
| Years in the senior squad | 21 |
Figures are senior internationals for Argentina, before the farewell appearance.
The road to the Monumental
What makes the farewell feel earned rather than routine is how much of it was lost first. Messi’s first four senior finals with Argentina ended in defeat, and in 2016 he announced he was walking away from the national team altogether before changing his mind. Everything that followed — the Copa América in 2021, the World Cup in 2022, the Copa América again in 2024 — came after that.
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| 2005 | Debut for Argentina against Hungary on 17 August, aged 18. |
| 2007 | First senior final — the Copa América, lost to Brazil. |
| 2014 | World Cup final in Brazil, lost to Germany in extra time. |
| 2015 & 2016 | Two more Copa América finals, both lost to Chile on penalties. |
| 2016 | Announces he is quitting the national team, then reverses the decision. |
| 2021 | Copa América won in Brazil — the first senior trophy of his career. |
| 2022 | Finalissima won at Wembley, then the World Cup in Qatar. |
| 2024 | Copa América won again. |
| 2026 | Third World Cup final, lost 1–0 to Spain. |
| August 2026 | Announces his retirement from international football. |
| 21 September 2026 | Unveils the farewell shirt on social media: “One last match. A jersey for a lifetime.” |
| 6 October 2026 | Final appearance for Argentina, against Benin at the Monumental. |
Why Benin, why the Monumental, and who turns up
The Estadio Monumental is the obvious host. It is River Plate’s ground, it holds more than 80,000, and it is the stadium Argentina use for the nights that matter. Choosing Benin as the opponent makes the same point from the other direction: the match is a tribute, not a test.
The AFA has invited the entire 2022 World Cup-winning squad and their families to attend, and Argentina are expected to line up tributes before kick-off and a farewell ceremony on the pitch afterwards. Ángel Di María, Messi’s long-time teammate in that side, has said he will be in the stands. Rodrigo De Paul and Giovani Lo Celso are in the squad for the match.
What happens to the No. 10 after this
Nothing has been decided publicly, and Argentina do not have to decide it now. What is certain is the shape of the problem: Lionel Scaloni loses his captain, his record scorer and the player the whole attacking structure has been organised around for most of a decade, and has to build the next Argentina without any of it.
That is a question for the months after 6 October. Until then the shirt, the number and the player are all still in place for one more night.
Frequently asked questions
- When is Lionel Messi’s final match for Argentina?
- Tuesday 6 October 2026, at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires. Argentina play Benin in an international friendly, and the match is being staged as Messi’s official farewell.
- How many caps will Messi finish on?
- 208. He goes into the Benin match on 207 senior appearances for Argentina, already a national record, and the farewell will be his last.
- What shirt will Messi wear in his final Argentina match?
- A one-off adidas design made for the occasion: a sky-blue base with a single broad white stripe down the centre instead of Argentina’s usual vertical bands, gold MESSI 10 and the Sun of May across the back, and Messi’s own ‘M’ logo where the adidas performance mark normally sits.
- Is the farewell shirt the same as the 2026 World Cup shirt?
- No. The 2026 World Cup shirt is the one Messi takes off its hanger in the reveal video; the farewell shirt is a separate design built for one night only.
- Who are Argentina playing in Messi’s farewell match?
- Benin, in a friendly. The opponent was chosen to suit the occasion rather than to test Argentina against elite opposition — the fixture exists to give Messi a home send-off.
- Is Messi playing the friendlies before the farewell?
- No. Argentina play Bolivia on 30 September in Córdoba and Burkina Faso on 3 October at the Monumental, but Messi is not featuring in either. He joins up for the Benin match only.
- Where is the Estadio Monumental and how big is it?
- It is in Buenos Aires and it is River Plate’s home ground, with a capacity of more than 80,000. It is one of the landmarks of Argentine football and the usual stage for the national team’s biggest home nights.
- What happens to Argentina’s No. 10 after Messi?
- Nobody has been designated. The shirt is simply open, and Lionel Scaloni has to rebuild the attack around a squad that no longer includes its captain or its record scorer.
Match details, shirt design and career figures were checked against the AFA announcement, adidas’s jersey reveal and contemporaneous reporting from 21–23 September 2026. Farewell arrangements are still being finalised, so timings around the match itself may change; the date, venue and opponent are confirmed.