The first shirt and the last shirt
Lionel Messi played the 208th and last match of his Argentina career on 6 October 2026: a 3-0 win over Benin at the Monumental in Buenos Aires, in front of 85,000 people. He scored one and set up two. Twenty years earlier he was a teenage substitute at his first World Cup, in a different shirt entirely.
This is the distance between those two — the 2006 away kit he wore on his World Cup debut and the 2026 farewell jersey he wore on his last cap — plus the home and away Argentina wore at the World Cup in between.
The short version: Messi’s Argentina career ran from a debut against Hungary in August 2005 to a farewell against Benin in October 2026. He finishes with 208 caps and 126 goals, both national records, and a one-off gold No.10 shirt made for the last night.
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What happened: the last night
Argentina beat Benin 3-0 at the Monumental on Tuesday 6 October 2026, in a friendly built around one man. Nicolás Otamendi headed in from a Messi corner on 48 minutes, Nico Paz made it two on 61, and Messi converted a penalty on 71 for his 126th international goal. The referee stopped the match in the tenth minute — his shirt number — for a standing ovation, and he had walked out with his three children beside him. A drone show closed the night.
The shirt was made for the occasion: a special edition with a gold No.10 and the outline of goat horns behind the number. Messi had confirmed in late August that he was retiring from international football, weeks after Argentina lost the World Cup final 1-0 to Spain in New Jersey.
The last shirt
The 2026 farewell jersey with Messi 10 — men’s, women’s and youth cuts are separate listings, so each button goes to that exact size.
Why it matters
Twenty-one years separate the debut and the farewell, and almost every Argentina record sits inside them: most caps, most goals, a World Cup won in Qatar in 2022, two Copas América, and three World Cup finals started — more than any other player. He is the thread that runs through four different Argentina shirts, and the reason a navy 2006 away shirt and a gold 2026 special edition belong in the same conversation.
“It was a huge source of pride for me to defend this jersey for more than twenty years. Not coming any more is going to be deeply painful.”
Messi, speaking at the Monumental after his final matchThe first shirt: the 2006 away kit
At the 2006 World Cup in Germany, Messi was a substitute and wore 19 — the No.10 belonged to someone else that summer. Argentina’s away kit that year was navy, with white and light blue panels down the sides and thin gold trim drawn from the Sun of May on the flag.
He wore it on 16 June against Serbia and Montenegro. Argentina were already 3-0 up when he came on; he set up Hernán Crespo, then scored himself late on to make it 6-0. His first World Cup appearance, his first World Cup goal, in the shirt below — though the reissue carries 10, the number that became his from the next campaign onwards.
The first shirt, and the home shirt of the same summer
The 2006 away kit he made his World Cup debut in, and the sky blue and white home shirt from the same squad — both printed Messi 10, both in three sizes.
His last World Cup: the 2026 shirts
The 2026 World Cup across the United States, Canada and Mexico was Messi’s fifth and last. Argentina reached the final and lost 1-0 to Spain in New Jersey, having beaten England 2-1 in a semi-final he later described as the point the squad ran out of road. He announced his international retirement shortly after.
Two shirts were released for the tournament — no third kit followed:
| Shirt | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| Home | Sky blue and white vertical stripes, each blue band fading through three shades for the titles of 1978, 1986 and 2022. Black shorts, white socks, and 1893 — the year the Argentine FA was founded — inside the collar. |
| Away | Black base with a swirling blue and purple pattern drawn from Buenos Aires art, a heritage badge back on a World Cup shirt for the first time since 1990, and ARGENTINA with the Sun of May at the back of the neck. |
The shirts of his last World Cup
Argentina’s 2026-27 home and away, each with Messi 10 and each in men’s, women’s and youth sizes.
The two shirts, side by side
| 2006 away — the first | 2026 farewell — the last | |
|---|---|---|
| When | 16 June 2006, World Cup debut | 6 October 2026, 208th cap |
| Number on the back | 19 that summer; the reissue carries 10 | 10, in gold |
| Match | Argentina 6-0 Serbia and Montenegro | Argentina 3-0 Benin |
| What he did | On as a sub: an assist, then a goal | Two assists, then a penalty |
What happens next
Messi is retiring from Argentina, not from football — his Inter Miami contract runs through December 2028. Argentina move into a new cycle without the player who holds every record they have, and the shirts above are the ones that carry the twenty-one years: the navy away kit from Germany, the gold special edition from the Monumental, and the home and away from the World Cup in between.
Key dates
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| August 2005 | Senior debut for Argentina, against Hungary. |
| 16 June 2006 | World Cup debut in the navy away shirt: assist and goal in a 6-0 win over Serbia and Montenegro. |
| 18 December 2022 | Argentina win the World Cup in Qatar. |
| July 2026 | Argentina lose the World Cup final 1-0 to Spain in New Jersey. |
| Late August 2026 | Messi confirms he is retiring from international football. |
| 6 October 2026 | 208th and final cap: 3-0 v Benin at the Monumental, with his 126th goal. |
Questions people ask
What was Messi's last match for Argentina?
A friendly against Benin at the Monumental in Buenos Aires on 6 October 2026, won 3-0. It was his 208th cap — the most in Argentina's history — and he marked it with his 126th international goal, a penalty on 71 minutes, plus assists for Nicolás Otamendi and Nico Paz.
What shirt did he wear in his final game?
A one-off farewell jersey: a special edition with a gold No.10 on the back and the outline of goat horns behind the number — the GOAT reference. The version in our shop carries the same printing, in men's, women's and youth cuts.
What was the first shirt he wore at a World Cup?
Argentina's 2006 away kit, a navy shirt with white and light blue panels and gold trim taken from the Sun of May. He wore it on 16 June 2006 against Serbia and Montenegro: on as a substitute, he set up Hernán Crespo and then scored in a 6-0 win. He wore 19 that tournament; the bringback edition carries 10.
How many goals and caps did Messi finish with?
126 goals in 208 appearances. Both are Argentina records. He also started three World Cup finals, more than any other player.
Which shirts did Argentina wear at the 2026 World Cup?
Two. The home shirt keeps the sky blue and white vertical stripes, with three shades of blue inside each band for the titles of 1978, 1986 and 2022, black shorts and 1893 — the year the Argentine FA was founded — inside the collar. The away shirt is black with a swirling blue and purple pattern drawn from Buenos Aires art, with ARGENTINA and the Sun of May at the back of the neck. No third kit was released for the tournament.
Do these shirts come in women's and youth sizes?
Yes. Every card on this page has three buttons — men's, women's and youth — and each one goes to that specific size's own product page.
Related reading
- Messi's final Argentina match: The Last Tango, as it happenedThe 3-0 win over Benin, the tenth-minute ovation and what Messi said afterwards.
- Argentina 2026 Messi special edition: the farewell collectionEvery piece in the special edition range released for his final chapter.
- Messi's Argentina farewell: the shirt and the send-offWhat was confirmed before the last match, and what the occasion was built around.
More Argentina collections
Confirmed information as of 8 October 2026. Kit descriptions follow the shirts as released by the Argentine FA. Prices shown are the store’s current prices for the men’s size; each button links to that specific listing. Sources: Xinhua and ESPN match reports, 7 October 2026; Le Monde and AFP, 7 October 2026; Argentine FA kit releases.