Argentina vs Benin, 2026 International Friendly

· International Friendly

Argentina

48': Nicolás Otamendi
61': Nico Paz
71': Lionel Messi (P)

FT
3 - 0

Benin

Messi scores in farewell as Argentina beat Benin

Hislop: Messi's World Cup final run 'underlines his legacy'

Lionel Messi enjoyed a fairy tale farewell as he scored on his last appearance for Argentina in a 3-0 win over Benin in Buenos Aires.

Match Commentary

0': Lineups are announced and players are warming up.
0': First Half begins.
1': Nicolás Otamendi (Argentina) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
1': Foul by Rodolfo Aloko (Benin).
2': Corner, Argentina. Conceded by Sessi D'Almeida.
3': Corner, Argentina. Conceded by Imourane Hassane.
4': Yohan Roche (Benin) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
4': Foul by Cristian Romero (Argentina).
5': Sessi D'Almeida (Benin) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
5': Foul by Rodrigo De Paul (Argentina).
5': Attempt blocked. Yohan Roche (Benin) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Mohamed Tijani.
5': Attempt blocked. Junior Olaïtan (Benin) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
7': Attempt saved. Lionel Messi (Argentina) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner by Marcel Dandjinou (Benin). Assisted by Rodrigo De Paul.
7': Attempt saved. Enzo Fernández (Argentina) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner by Marcel Dandjinou (Benin). Assisted by Nicolás Tagliafico.
11': Delay in match (Argentina).
12': Delay over. They are ready to continue.
14': Offside, Argentina. Nicolás Otamendi is caught offside.
15': Attempt missed. Rodrigo De Paul (Argentina) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Julián Alvarez.
17': Corner, Benin. Conceded by Cristian Romero.
17': Attempt missed. Aiyegun Tosin (Benin) header from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Junior Olaïtan with a cross following a corner.
19': Attempt missed. Junior Olaïtan (Benin) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Rodolfo Aloko with a cross.
24': Attempt missed. Lionel Messi (Argentina) left footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Rodrigo De Paul with a through ball.
25': Foul by Imourane Hassane (Benin).
25': Lionel Messi (Argentina) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
26': Attempt saved. Lionel Messi (Argentina) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner by Marcel Dandjinou (Benin).
27': Foul by Sessi D'Almeida (Benin).
27': Enzo Fernández (Argentina) wins a free kick on the left wing.
29': Attempt blocked. Lautaro Martínez (Argentina) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Rodrigo De Paul with a cross.
29': Corner, Argentina. Conceded by Liam Omore.
31': Rodolfo Aloko (Benin) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
31': Foul by Nicolás Tagliafico (Argentina).
32': Attempt missed. Lionel Messi (Argentina) left footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Lautaro Martínez following a fast break.
33': Rodolfo Aloko (Benin) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
33': Foul by Nicolás Tagliafico (Argentina).
35': Foul by Rodolfo Aloko (Benin).
35': Agustín Giay (Argentina) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
36': Offside, Argentina. Lautaro Martínez is caught offside.
37': Handball by Junior Olaïtan (Benin).
43': Attempt saved. Junior Olaïtan (Benin) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner by Emiliano Martínez (Argentina). Assisted by Yamirou Ouorou.
43': Attempt saved. Julián Alvarez (Argentina) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the top left corner by Marcel Dandjinou (Benin). Assisted by Lionel Messi with a through ball.
44': Corner, Argentina. Conceded by Marcel Dandjinou.
44': Attempt saved. Yamirou Ouorou (Benin) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner by Emiliano Martínez (Argentina). Assisted by Junior Olaïtan.
44': Attempt missed. Tamimou Ouorou (Benin) right footed shot from the left side of the box is high and wide to the right.
44': Nicolás Otamendi (Argentina) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
45': Fourth official has announced 1 minutes of added time.
45'+1': First Half ends, Argentina 0, Benin 0.
45': Second Half begins Argentina 0, Benin 0.
48': Corner, Argentina. Conceded by Mohamed Tijani.
48': Goal! Argentina 1, Benin 0. Nicolás Otamendi (Argentina) right footed shot from very close range to the high centre of the goal. Assisted by Lionel Messi with a cross following a corner.
52': Substitution, Argentina. Lisandro Martínez replaces Nicolás Otamendi.
52': Substitution, Argentina. Facundo Medina replaces Nicolás Tagliafico.
53': Attempt blocked. Enzo Fernández (Argentina) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Agustín Giay with a cross.
53': Junior Olaïtan (Benin) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
53': Foul by Agustín Giay (Argentina).
55': Delay in match because of an injury Alexis Mac Allister (Argentina).
55': Mohamed Tijani (Benin) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
55': Delay over. They are ready to continue.
56': Aiyegun Tosin (Benin) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
56': Foul by Alexis Mac Allister (Argentina).
56': Foul by Imourane Hassane (Benin).
56': Alexis Mac Allister (Argentina) wins a free kick on the right wing.
57': Offside, Argentina. Lautaro Martínez is caught offside.
59': Foul by Mohamed Tijani (Benin).
59': Lionel Messi (Argentina) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
59': Substitution, Argentina. Nico Paz replaces Rodrigo De Paul.
60': Substitution, Argentina. Nico González replaces Julián Alvarez.
60': Attempt saved. Lionel Messi (Argentina) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top right corner by Marcel Dandjinou (Benin).
60': Corner, Argentina. Conceded by Marcel Dandjinou.
61': Foul by Yohan Roche (Benin).
61': Alexis Mac Allister (Argentina) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
61': Goal! Argentina 2, Benin 0. Nico Paz (Argentina) left footed shot from outside the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Lionel Messi.
64': Corner, Benin. Conceded by Cristian Romero.
64': Substitution, Benin. Mattéo Ahlinvi replaces Junior Olaïtan.
64': Substitution, Benin. Junior Olougbade replaces Yamirou Ouorou.
65': Foul by Mattéo Ahlinvi (Benin).
65': Nico González (Argentina) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
68': Penalty conceded by Tamimou Ouorou (Benin) after a foul in the penalty area.
68': Penalty Argentina. Agustín Giay draws a foul in the penalty area.
70': Delay in match because of an injury Tamimou Ouorou (Benin).
71': Delay over. They are ready to continue.
71': Goal! Argentina 3, Benin 0. Lionel Messi (Argentina) converts the penalty with a left footed shot to the top right corner.
73': Tamimou Ouorou (Benin) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
73': Foul by Nico Paz (Argentina).
75': Attempt missed. Lionel Messi (Argentina) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Nico González with a cross.
75': Substitution, Benin. Jodel Dossou replaces Aiyegun Tosin.
75': Substitution, Benin. Charlemagne Azongnitode replaces Tamimou Ouorou.
76': Substitution, Benin. Saturnin Allagbé replaces Marcel Dandjinou.
77': Jodel Dossou (Benin) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
77': Foul by Lisandro Martínez (Argentina).
78': Substitution, Argentina. Leonel Flores replaces Lautaro Martínez.
79': Substitution, Argentina. Giovani Lo Celso replaces Alexis Mac Allister.
79': Substitution, Argentina. Franco Mastantuono replaces Cristian Romero.
79': Substitution, Argentina. Exequiel Palacios replaces Enzo Fernández.
80': Rodolfo Aloko (Benin) wins a free kick on the right wing.
80': Foul by Nico Paz (Argentina).
80': Foul by Junior Olougbade (Benin).
80': Agustín Giay (Argentina) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
82': Attempt saved. Leonel Flores (Argentina) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner by Saturnin Allagbé (Benin). Assisted by Nico Paz.
82': Attempt missed. Franco Mastantuono (Argentina) left footed shot from the right side of the box is high and wide to the right.
83': Offside, Argentina. Lionel Messi is caught offside.
84': Rodolfo Aloko (Benin) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
84': Foul by Facundo Medina (Argentina).
86': Rodolfo Aloko (Benin) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
86': Foul by Facundo Medina (Argentina).
88': Offside, Argentina. Lionel Messi is caught offside.
89': Attempt saved. Leonel Flores (Argentina) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal by Saturnin Allagbé (Benin). Assisted by Lionel Messi with a through ball.
89': Corner, Argentina. Conceded by Saturnin Allagbé.
89': Attempt saved. Lionel Messi (Argentina) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner by Saturnin Allagbé (Benin). Assisted by Giovani Lo Celso.
89': Corner, Argentina. Conceded by Saturnin Allagbé.
90': Foul by Mattéo Ahlinvi (Benin).
90': Franco Mastantuono (Argentina) wins a free kick on the right wing.
90': Fourth official has announced 3 minutes of added time.
90'+1': Offside, Argentina. Lionel Messi is caught offside.
90'+1': Substitution, Benin. Samadou Attidjikou replaces Imourane Hassane.
90'+1': Substitution, Benin. Sahid Ngobi replaces Rodolfo Aloko.
90'+1': Substitution, Benin. Amiro Amadou replaces Yohan Roche.
90'+2': Foul by Samadou Attidjikou (Benin).
90'+2': Leonel Flores (Argentina) wins a free kick on the left wing.
90'+3': Foul by Sessi D'Almeida (Benin).
90'+3': Lionel Messi (Argentina) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
90'+5': Attempt missed. Lionel Messi (Argentina) left footed shot from outside the box is too high from a direct free kick.
90'+5': Second Half ends, Argentina 3, Benin 0.
0': Match ends, Argentina 3, Benin 0.

Statistics

BEN		ARG
14	Fouls	11
1	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0
0	Offsides	6
2	Corner Kicks	8
8	Saves	2
34.8	Possession	65.2
7	SHOTS	19
2	ON GOAL	12
0.3	On Target %	0.6
0	Penalty Goals	0
0	Penalty Kicks Taken	1
282	Accurate Passes	607
356	Passes	666
0.8	Pass Completion %	0.9
3	Accurate Crosses	6
5	Crosses	16
0.6	Cross %	0.4
39	Long Balls	30
18	Accurate Long Balls	21
0.5	Long Balls %	0.7
2	Blocked Shots	1
9	Effective Tackles	9
15	Tackles	14
0.6	Tackle %	0.6
14	Interceptions	18
17	Effective Clearances	4
17	Clearances	4

Game Information

Competition: International Friendly

Venue: Estadio Más Monumental
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Line-Ups

Argentina (4-3-3)

No.	Name
23	Emiliano Martínez (GK)
19	Nicolás Otamendi
13	Cristian Romero
3	Nicolás Tagliafico
4	Agustín Giay
20	Alexis Mac Allister
8	Enzo Fernández
7	Rodrigo De Paul
22	Lautaro Martínez
9	Julián Álvarez
10	Lionel Messi

Argentina Substitutes:

Nico Paz, Giuliano Simeone, Lisandro Martínez, Leonel Flores, Valentín Barco, Giovani Lo Celso, Juan Musso, Gerónimo Rulli, Franco Mastantuono, Gianluca Prestianni, José Manuel López, Leonardo Balerdi, Facundo Medina, Nico González, Exequiel Palacios.

Benin (4-2-3-1)

No.	Name
1	Marcel Dandjinou (GK)
13	Mohamed Tijani
5	Yohan Roche
3	Tamimou Ouorou
2	Liam Omore
18	Junior Olaitan
8	Hassane Imourane
15	Sessi D'Almeida
10	Tosin Aiyegun
11	Yamirou Ouorou
17	Rodolfo Aloko

Benin Substitutes:

Amiro Amadou, Jodel Dossou, Matteo Ahlinvi, Sahid Ngobi, Saturnin Allagbé, Junior Pamilerin Olougbade, Joseph Oloko Ede, Olatoundji Tessilimi, Charlemagne Azongnitode, Samadou Attidjikou, Serge Obassa.

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