Who wears Argentina's number 10 against Benin

Lionel Messi wears Argentina's number 10 against Benin on Tuesday 6 October 2026. Lionel Scaloni said on 29 September that nobody else puts it on against Bolivia or Burkina Faso. He has not named the player who wears it after this match. The number has not been retired. Kick-off at the Más Monumental is 20:00 in Buenos Aires, which is 23:00 UTC.

What Scaloni said on 29 September

The comment came in his press conference before Bolivia, the first friendly of the window. He was asked what happens to the 10 once Messi leaves it. The answer has two parts, and they should not be folded into one headline. For these matches, he said, there is no need for someone else to wear it, so it stays unused until Messi's game. After that, he said they would see who gets it. The choice is not made.

That is a coach talking about one week. It is not a federation retiring a number. The shirt is empty on Wednesday and on Saturday because the man who has worn it is not in those squads. It is on his back on Tuesday because that is the match he was called for. Anyone who writes "Argentina retire the 10" is ahead of the sentence that was actually spoken.

Why the number stays empty before Benin

This window is three games, not one. Bolivia is on 30 September at 21:00 in Córdoba, at the Mario Alberto Kempes. Burkina Faso is on 3 October at 21:00 at the Monumental. Benin is on 6 October at 20:00, on the same ground. Messi was held for the last of those, along with Rodrigo De Paul, Giovani Lo Celso and Nicolás Otamendi. The first two nights are real matches with a different group. Handing the 10 to a stand-in for those games, then taking it back for the farewell, is the thing Scaloni said he would not do.

There is a recent memory of the other choice. When Messi missed games in September 2024, Paulo Dybala wore the 10. That was a loan of the shirt for those fixtures, not a handover. Dybala is not in this squad. Roma has also said he will not travel for the homage. The 2024 week matters only as a check on the word "retired". Argentina has left the number with someone else before, for a few days, and then given it back. This week the coach has chosen an empty shirt instead.

The Argentina team news page is where the call-ups sit: who was kept for Benin, who is injured, and who is suspended. This page is only the number. Mixing the two is how a reader ends up "confirming" Messi in a game he was never selected for.

The shirt he showed for the night

Around 21 September Messi posted the shirt he intends to wear, with the line "Último partido… Una camiseta para toda la vida." It is sky blue, with a white band through the middle. His name and the 10 are gold. The Sol de Mayo sits across the back. It is a one-night shirt, not the ordinary home shirt the rest of the squad is expected to wear.

The photograph on this page is a front view of Messi in an Argentina 10. The sun on the back is in his post, not in this frame. A fan drawing that adds stripes, a sponsor, or a different gold pattern is not the match shirt. The useful description is the one he showed: sky blue, white band, gold name, gold 10, sun on the back. If the shirt that comes out of the tunnel is different, this page should change. Until then, that is the public version.

What the teamsheet can and cannot say

A predicted lineup can put Messi wide or through the middle and still be honest. It cannot put another Argentine in the 10 and claim the coach said so. Benin have their own numbers. Nothing Scaloni said about this shirt tells you their team. The rest of Argentina's numbers for the night are not a published match sheet. Squad lists and match-day numbers often move. Only the 10 has a public rule for this window, and the rule ends when the final whistle goes against Benin.

The public count going into the window is 125 goals in 207 appearances. If he plays, Benin is the next cap on that count. The digit on his back does not change the count. People looking up the 10 usually want three things: who wears it, on which date, and whether anyone else gets it this week. The answers are Messi, 6 October, and no.

What to ignore between now and Tuesday

By the night of the Bolivia game, social posts will have named an heir. Unless Scaloni or the player says it, it is not news. The same rule covers a graphic that says the association has withdrawn the number. The coach's line is short enough to check against: unused until Messi, undecided after. A captain's armband is a separate question. He has not tied the armband to the 10 in that answer, and this page will not invent the link.

The wider squad list still has the players who can fill the first two games and, if Scaloni wants, part of the third. Franco Mastantuono, Nico Paz and the other younger names are in that pool. None of them has been given the 10 for this window. Being in the squad is not the same as being offered the shirt.

Questions people ask

Conclusion

Argentina's number 10 against Benin belongs to Lionel Messi. It is unused against Bolivia on 30 September and against Burkina Faso on 3 October. Scaloni has not chosen the next player, and he has not retired the shirt. The farewell shirt Messi showed is sky blue and white, with gold lettering and the Sol de Mayo on the back. Dybala and Molina will not be at the homage, which is a travel note, not a change to this number. Anything firmer than the coach's two sentences is a guess.

Read also: Dybala and Molina will miss Messi's farewell