Guwahati: Lionel Messi has unveiled the special No. 10 Argentina shirt he is set to wear for his final appearance for the national team, offering fans a first look at the jersey marking the end of his international career.
The Argentina captain posted a video on Instagram on Monday in which he took down his familiar World Cup shirt from a wall display and replaced it with the commemorative No. 10 jersey.
“One last game… A shirt for life,” Messi wrote in the caption.
Messi is scheduled to wear the shirt for the first and only time on October 6, when Argentina face Benin at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires.
Argentina have two other friendlies during the international window, against Bolivia in Cordoba on September 30 and Burkina Faso at the Monumental on October 3. Messi, however, is set to feature only in the farewell match.
The Argentine Football Association has also invited members of the country’s 2022 World Cup-winning squad and their families to the Monumental for the occasion, turning Messi’s final international appearance into a reunion with the teammates who helped him win the World Cup in Qatar.
Messi announced his international retirement on August 31. He leaves Argentina as the country’s record scorer, with 125 goals in 207 appearances, and as a World Cup and two-time Copa America winner.
His final appearance for Argentina will therefore bring his international career to a close with one last match — and one final No. 10 shirt.