Lionel Messi might break records in his farewell match, especially after a Benin defender shared their ‘special plan’ for the game.
Benin defender Mohamed Tijani recently caught everyone’s attention by sharing that his team has a “special plan” for Lionel Messi when they face Argentina. But it turns out it’s not really a plan to stop him!
Messi will play his last international match for Argentina against Benin, who are ranked 93rd by FIFA. The game is set for Tuesday night at Buenos Aires’ Estadio Monumental. Messi, who is 39, holds the records for most appearances and goals for Argentina – 207 games and 125 goals! He has smashed many records over his amazing career.
When asked about how Benin will try to stop Messi, Tijani said, “We don’t need to mark Messi. We’re just going to enjoy this match. There’s no special plan; we want to have fun.” He even called Messi “the best in the world” and cheerfully said, “Messi, you are the god.” The team doctor jumped in, saying, “He’s the god of football!”
Most of Messi’s World Cup-winning teammates have been invited to this farewell game, though Paulo Dybala and Nahuel Molina won’t be there. Their club, Roma, decided to keep them in Italy because traveling to Argentina right before an important match would be too tiring.
There’s been some talk that Messi wasn’t super excited about this farewell match. A report said he thought the Argentine Football Association was using his name mainly to make money. But he agreed to play anyway.
For this long international break, Argentina arranged three home-friendly matches, inviting Bolivia, Burkina Faso, and Benin. Benin agreed to take part for free, happy just to be part of such a special moment and capture a historic photo with Messi.