What happened
Argentina beat Benin 3–0 at the Monumental on October 6, the final home appearance of Lionel Messi’s international career. He set up Nicolás Otamendi’s opener, then slipped the ball to Nico Paz for the second before converting a late penalty of his own. The AFA’s match report confirms the score and goals; Messi’s club, Inter Miami, records the two assists as well as his finish.
The stadium was full, the goodbye was emotional, and the football still gave us a small glimpse of what comes next. Paz’s goal was a clean finish after Messi found him in space. The 22-year-old remains a Como player for 2026–27, so that pass-to-finish connection is more than a nice footnote for us.
The Como view
Let’s say it plainly: for a farewell built around one of football’s greatest players, Benin was a disappointing choice of opponent. That is a criticism of the fixture, not of Benin’s players. They came to compete, and the match was still 0–0 at halftime. But the occasion called for more than a friendly that Argentina could settle once it found its rhythm. You want competition, not frictionless ceremony.
Sempre Como Editorial Desk
There is no mystery we can prove from the outside. El País reported that the AFA cited the difficulty of arranging high-level opponents, travel logistics and Europe’s Nations League calendar; it also reported that economics can favor inviting African teams. That is useful context, not proof of a hidden deal. The fair question for the federation is simpler: when the date and the player are this important, did it find the strongest meaningful contest available?
None of that takes a thing away from the crowd. More than 85,000 people filled the Monumental, and the farewell became a national gathering around a player who spent 21 years carrying Argentina’s hopes and, at times, its impossible expectations. The joy was real. So was the missed chance to make the football match the size of the occasion.
And Messi? The GOAT debate can keep going in bars forever; the pleasure of watching him never needed a verdict. I have been lucky enough to see him a few times in both Barcelona and Argentina colors. I never caught one of his goals in person. Somehow, that did not matter: a touch, a feint or the pass before the pass was already worth the trip. He made the next thing feel possible, and made the rest of us want to watch closely.
That is a feeling Como supporters recognize. Italian football passion is its own noisy, local ritual; Argentina turns the volume up until the whole country seems to be singing. Different scale, same truth: football should make people lean forward. In an official Como interview, Cesc Fàbregas describes his idea as proactive football: possession, a high press and intelligent transitions. That is not a comparison with Messi’s genius; it is a shared belief that the game should be a joy to watch before it becomes a result.
Paz is a lovely part of that story. One goal does not prove a player is fully back in rhythm, and we should not turn a single international night into a forecast. It does show his quality: he received the ball, chose his moment and finished with confidence on a huge stage. Good to see him back in the picture and giving Como another reason to follow Argentina. We can let the next weeks tell us how his form develops.
Bottom line
The Monumental gave Messi the love he had earned. The AFA could have given him a sterner opponent. Both things can be true, and asking for better competition is part of taking the game seriously—not spoiling a farewell.
For one last time in Argentina’s shirt, Messi turned the night into something only he could. Then he helped Paz score, and the Como midfielder gave the evening a future-facing image. Forza Leo. And now, Nico: bring that confidence back to Como.