(FILES) Argentina's forward and captain Lionel Messi reacts after his team lost the 2014 FIFA World Cup final football match between Germany and Argentina at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on July 13, 2014, after forward Germany's Mario Goetze scored during extra time. AFP PHOTO / PEDRO UGARTE. 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 Pedro UGARTE / AFP via Getty Images)