Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni is confident there is a bright future beyond Lionel Messi, as the team's most influential player of the last two decades prepares to bid farewell, while acknowledging the match will be filled with nostalgia for all those involved.
The 39-year-old superstar will play his final match for Argentina on Tuesday -- a friendly against Benin at Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires -- marking a pivotal moment in the country's footballing history.
The match will be a celebration of his career, with his teammates from Argentina's triumphant 2022 World Cup squad invited.
Messi leaves behind an extraordinary legacy, including the 2022 World Cup title, two more World Cup finals (2014, 2026), two Copa América trophies (2021, 2024), an Olympic gold medal (2008) and 125 goals across 208 senior appearances, which are both records for the national team. He is also the first man to start three World Cup finals.
His international retirement raises an inevitable question: Can Argentina remain among the global elite, or is a long trophy drought -- reminiscent of the 35-year dry spell following Diego Maradona's departure -- on the horizon?
"Messi leaves behind something unequaled," Scaloni said. "We have to keep playing, but the feeling of having him on the pitch is unique. I've never seen anyone else convey what he does on a football field, and that is what we're going to miss."
However, Scaloni, who is in advanced negotiations to renew his contract for another four years, looks beyond Messi with optimism: "The Argentine national team will endure. We will remain at a high level, I have no doubt about that."
After arriving in his hometown of Rosario with his family Friday, Messi joined the squad Sunday to complete his final training sessions with the 'Albiceleste.'
Alongside the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner, Nicolás Otamendi -- who previously announced his international retirement following the 2026 World Cup -- and Rodrigo De Paul, Messi's teammate at Inter Miami who had missed out on Scaloni's squad for the first two matches of this FIFA window, also trained with the team the last two days and are expected to start against Benin.
Nearly the entire 2022 Qatar World Cup championship squad, barring Paulo Dybala, Nahuel Molina and Alejandro Gómez, will be at the Estadio Monumental to bid farewell to Argentina's captain.
In the first two post-World Cup matches without Messi, Argentina dazzled in the past week with resounding victories against Bolivia 4-0 and Burkina Faso 7-0. Despite the opponents' stature, the matches offered compelling glimpses of what lies ahead.
Alongside established stars such as Emiliano Martínez, Cristian Romero, Enzo Fernández and Lautaro Martínez, an exciting wave of new talent emerged -- creative midfielders Nico Paz and Franco Mastantuono, and wingers Gianluca Prestianni and Leonel Flores.
Argentina's first major tournament without Messi will come in 2028 at the Copa América. Messi will not be there and it remains to be seen whether Scaloni will, but the legacy of the country's greatest player will continue to loom large.
Argentina is preparing to say farewell to Lionel Messi, who will make one final appearance for the national team against Benin on Tuesday.
Messi, who announced his retirement from international football after Argentina's defeat in the World Cup final, was invited to participate in the friendly.
Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni paid tribute to the national side's "unique" and "incomparable" No. 10.
"Only nostalgia remains now that he won't be there," Scaloni said. "He is an incredible example. The first to arrive, the last to leave, how he takes care of himself, how he faces each game.
"You can see he is a phenomenon just by how he plays, but he has things behind him that his teammates see, and he is the best example there can be.
"He has left -- or is leaving, because he has one more game -- something incomparable."
Information from The Associated Press and PA was used in this report.