{
  "id": 7650774,
  "title": "Lionel Messi named in Argentina squad for farewell appearance",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/lionel-messi-named-in-argentina-squad-for-farewell-appearance",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-15T22:48:48.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/lionel-messi-named-argentina-squad-224848042.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Lionel Messi, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner, has been selected to make a farewell appearance for Argentina against Benin on October 6. The match will be a celebration of his illustrious career, with all his teammates from Argentina's 2022 World Cup-winning squad invited. Messi, the team's record goalscorer and most-capped player, has been joined in the squad for this occasion by midfielders Giovani Lo Celso and Rodrigo De Paul. The Argentinian Football Association president, Claudio Tapia, expressed his desire to make this event \"unforgettable\" and invited all Argentinians to watch Messi's \"last tango\" for the national team.",
  "summary": "Lionel Messi is to make one final farewell appearance for Argentina against Benin on October 6. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, who announced his retirement from international football after Argentina’s defeat in the World Cup final, has been invited to participate in the upcoming friendly.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}