Argentina 3–0 Benin: Messi scores in farewell win at the Monumental
Argentina beat Benin 3–0 in Lionel Messi’s final home appearance for the national team, with Nicolás Otamendi, Nicolás Paz and Messi scoring after half-time.
Argentina’s 3–0 farewell win
Argentina closed the FIFA window with a 3–0 win over Benin at the Monumental in Lionel Messi’s final home appearance for the national team. The Argentine Football Association says the match remained scoreless through the first half before Argentina broke through after the interval.
Nicolás Otamendi scored the opener, Nicolás Paz added the second and Messi scored the third late in the match. The result gave the occasion a clear sporting conclusion rather than leaving the farewell as a ceremonial event only.
Why Messi’s goal mattered
The AFA framed the night as Messi’s farewell in front of the Argentine public. His goal completed the scoring and became the defining football moment of the evening, while the packed Monumental provided the emotional context around the result.
For readers following the event after the final whistle, the important verified facts are the 3–0 score, the three scorers and the significance of Messi’s last national-team appearance in Argentina. Sports Up Next does not extend that context into claims about his future international schedule beyond what the federation has confirmed.
How the match changed after half-time
Benin kept Argentina scoreless through the opening half, but the match changed once Otamendi put the home side in front. Paz then increased the margin before Messi supplied the final goal.
That sequence matters because it shows a game that was controlled decisively only after the break. It also separates the result from generic farewell coverage: Argentina still had to turn the occasion into a competitive win, and the decisive scoring all came in the second half.
What to follow next
The result closes this particular home farewell story, but Argentina’s future fixtures remain separate events. Any next-match schedule, lineup or viewing information should be checked against AFA or FIFA rather than inferred from the farewell match.
If an authorized replay or highlight package is published by AFA, FIFA or another rights holder, it can be linked or embedded here after verification. Until then, the federation report remains the primary evidence for the score and the scorers.
The farewell after the final whistle
AFA’s post-match coverage makes clear that the significance continued after the 3–0 result. The federation described a full farewell programme at the Monumental and later published reactions from Lionel Scaloni and Argentina players about Messi’s final home appearance. Scaloni spoke about the legacy Messi leaves to the national team, while teammates described the difficulty of processing a future international window without their captain. Those official reactions add context without changing the core football facts: Argentina were scoreless at half-time, Otamendi opened the scoring, Paz made it 2–0 and Messi supplied the final goal. The result page should therefore preserve both parts of the night — a competitive win and an officially staged national-team farewell — without speculating about fixtures or appearances that have not been confirmed.
Video / highlights
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