(FILES) Argentina's forward and captain Lionel Messi reacts after losing the 2014 FIFA World Cup final football match between Germany and Argentina 1-0 following extra-time at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 13, 2014. ODD ANDERSEN. It will be both a farewell and the start of a new era: Lionel Messi will bid farewell to the Argentina national football team in a friendly match against Benin on October 6, 2026, at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires, where a large celebration is expected to pay tribute to the Argentine star. (Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / AFP via Getty Images)