For years, the tiny West African nation of Benin has flown under the global football radar, overshadowed by regional powerhouse neighbor Nigeria. But this week, the national side — nicknamed the Cheetahs — is stepping into the center of the football world’s attention, as they prepare to face Argentina in Buenos Aires in what will be Lionel Messi’s final cap for his country.
The historic friendly, which kicks off at 00:00 BST on Wednesday, is being marked with a one-of-a-kind bespoke Argentina kit, and the jersey Messi wears during the match is already tipped to become one of the most valuable match-worn football shirts in history. Unlike Argentina’s star-studded squad, most of Benin’s squad plies their trade in lower-profile leagues across Europe and southern Africa, ranging from Finland’s top flight to Switzerland’s second division and South Africa’s Premiership.
Benin’s most high-profile player is captain Steve Mounie, a Bundesliga striker with FC Augsburg who previously featured in the English Premier League for Huddersfield Town between 2017 and 2020. A mainstay of the Benin national set-up for more than 10 years, Mounie revealed he has never once represented his country outside of the African continent, and the opportunity to be part of Messi’s farewell game was too meaningful to pass up — even when an injury ruled him out of playing.
“When the coach called me to tell me about the fixture, we had no idea it would be Leo Messi’s last international match,” Mounie told BBC Sport. “It was like the cherry on top of the cake. It adds extra value to this huge moment for Benin, and it’s a massive event for the entire football world.”
Despite being sidelined by injury, Mounie refused to sit this match out at home. He even covered the cost of his own travel to Buenos Aires just to be part of the occasion. “I cannot play, but I just came to join the team and support them,” he explained. “Football is my passion, and I came for this moment for myself. I would rather be on the bench, but if I have to be in the stands, that’s fine — I just want to watch the game from as close to the pitch as possible.”
While the friendly’s result is largely irrelevant in terms of competitive football, Mounie noted that the selected Benin players all recognize once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to raise their own profiles and put Beninese football on the global map. He described his national side as a tight-knit, disciplined unit full of technically gifted young talent that plays high-pressing, attacking football. “We are a team like a family,” Mounie said. “I think that connects us to Argentina, too — they are also a family, and Messi is like their father.”
Argentina entered the fixture fresh off a dominant 7-0 warm-up win over another West African side, Burkina Faso, leading most analysts to predict another lopsided result against Benin. It is also widely expected that Messi will not play the full 90 minutes; the most likely scenario sees the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner substituted in the second half after Argentina builds a comfortable lead, giving the sold-out crowd at Estadio Monumental a chance to bid a personal farewell to the greatest player in Argentina’s modern history. Once the final whistle blows, insiders expect an immediate scramble among players to secure the legendary striker’s match shirt.
Doug Bierton, founder of iconic football memorabilia retailer Classic Football Shirts, explained why the jersey is such a coveted piece. “To get hold of a match-worn Messi shirt is incredibly hard, because everyone knows how valuable they are,” Bierton said. “Every player on the pitch will be looking to swap with him. This is the first time a legend of this stature has retired with a special edition match shirt made for the occasion.”
Bierton, who owns a private collection of thousands of iconic match shirts, ranks Messi’s expected final shirt alongside the most valuable football jerseys in existence, putting it in the same league as Diego Maradona’s 1986 World Cup “Hand of God” shirt, which sold for £7.1 million at auction in 2022, and Zinedine Zidane’s 2006 World Cup final shirt from his final France cap — a match best remembered for his red card after headbutting Italy’s Marco Materazzi.
The fact that a shirt from a friendly fixture is held in such high regard speaks to Messi’s standing as widely considered the greatest footballer of all time. Bierton added that the scramble for the shirt won’t be limited to Benin’s players. “I’m sure some of his own Argentina teammates will be after it too,” he said. “He’s very close with Rodrigo De Paul, he’ll probably want it. Will it be a retirement gift for him? Even the kit man will be after it. I’m going to be watching the entire match just to see who ends up with it.”