Argentina vs Benin lineups
The Argentina vs Benin lineups are confirmed. Lionel Messi starts his farewell match as captain in a 4-3-3, with Nicolás Otamendi also in the XI for his final international appearance. The pre-match predicted XI sketch is kept in the other tab for comparison.
| Fixture | Argentina vs Benin |
|---|---|
| Date | Tuesday, 6 October 2026 |
| Kick-off | 20:00 Argentina time (23:00 UTC) |
| Venue | Estadio Más Monumental, Buenos Aires |
| Competition | International friendly |
Predicted Argentina XI
Sketch in a 4-3-3, for the Benin match only. Clubs follow the 27 September 2026 squad list.
- Emiliano Martínez — Chelsea
- Santiago Simón — Toluca. Cristian Romero — Atlético Madrid. Nicolás Otamendi — River Plate. Nicolás Tagliafico — Lyon.
- Enzo Fernández — Manchester City. Alexis Mac Allister — Liverpool. Rodrigo De Paul — Inter Miami.
- Lionel Messi — Inter Miami. Lautaro Martínez — Inter. Julián Álvarez — Atlético Madrid.
Expected Argentina shape, 4-3-3. Not the official teamsheet. Scaloni can change it.
Benin’s formation for this friendly is to be confirmed. No official Benin eleven has been published, so this page does not draw one.
Otamendi, De Paul and Messi are in this sketch because reporting said they were available for Benin and not for the earlier friendlies. Simón is one answer at right-back with Molina absent. Giay could start there instead. Lisandro Martínez could start ahead of Otamendi if the farewell is from the bench. None of those swaps would make the graphic wrong in an interesting way. They would make it a sketch, which it already is.
Predicted Benin shape
No Benin team sheet for 6 October has been published in the sources used here. Naming eleven Benin starters would be a guess. Public profiles in September still listed Gernot Rohr as head coach and Steve Mounié among the senior forwards. A compact block, with Mounié as the reference point if he is selected, is the only tactical note that does not pretend to be a leak. The confirmed eleven will be added in the other tab.
Confirmed starting XIs
Both official teamsheets were published about an hour before kick-off at the Estadio Más Monumental. This is the eleven that starts Messi's farewell.
Argentina (4-3-3) — Lionel Scaloni
- Emiliano Martínez — Chelsea
- Agustín Giay — Palmeiras. Cristian Romero — Atlético Madrid. Nicolás Otamendi — River Plate. Nicolás Tagliafico — Lyon.
- Rodrigo De Paul — Inter Miami. Enzo Fernández — Manchester City. Alexis Mac Allister — Liverpool.
- Lionel Messi — Inter Miami (captain). Julián Álvarez — Atlético Madrid. Lautaro Martínez — Inter.
Benin (4-2-3-1) — Gernot Rohr
- Marcel Dandjinou — Kruger United
- Tamimou Ouorou — CSKA Sofia. Yohan Roche — Iraklis. Mohamed Tijani — Yverdon Sport. Liam Omore.
- Sessi D'Almeida — Neftçi Baku. Hassane Imourane — Grasshoppers.
- Yamirou Ouorou — AC Horsens. Rodolfo Aloko — Charlotte FC. Junior Olaitan — Beşiktaş.
- Tosin Aiyegun — Lorient.
Notable calls
- Messi starts as captain — his 208th and final Argentina appearance.
- Otamendi starts alongside Romero in central defence — also his international farewell.
- Giay gets the nod at right-back with Nahuel Molina suspended and Gonzalo Montiel not called up.
- Tagliafico is back in the XI after missing the Bolivia and Burkina Faso friendlies through injury.
- De Paul, recalled only for this match, starts one more time alongside Messi.
- Scaloni starts Lautaro Martínez and Julián Álvarez together, flanking Messi in the 4-3-3.
- Benin: Liam Omore starts at left-back and Tamimou Ouorou at right-back. Tosin Aiyegun leads the line, with Steve Mounié not in the XI.
Injuries and suspensions
Juan Foyth and Thiago Almada are out through injury. They are not on the 27 September squad list. Leandro Paredes was given a 10-game suspension and Nahuel Molina a seven-match suspension after the World Cup final. Neither name is on the published friendly list. That is consistent with them being unavailable. It is not the same as this site re-judging the ban. If a suspension is reduced, the news page should say so and this XI should move.
Enzo Fernández is suspended for the Bolivia friendly and available for Burkina Faso and Benin. He is in the predicted Benin side for that reason. A knock between 3 October and 6 October would remove him. There is no such knock today.
How a farewell XI is different
Scaloni has a long list: 35 names appeared on the 27 September report, with four of them tied to the last match. He does not need all of them on the pitch, and he cannot play all of them. A tribute night often means a strong start and a bench that is the story of the second half. World Cup winners were invited to be present with their families, which is not the same as being named in the matchday squad. Presence in the stand is not a lineup.
For Benin, a trip to Buenos Aires for a farewell is a difficult assignment and a visible one. Their coach may protect players who have club games soon after, or he may pick his most experienced side because the occasion is rare. Both choices are open. The Benin news page will carry a real squad if the federation publishes one. Until then the honest lineup is “to be confirmed”.
When to refresh
The elevens above are the official teamsheets, confirmed about an hour before kick-off. Once the match is underway, the live-score page carries the score and the milestones. Training pictures are not a team sheet. A journalist’s “probable XI” is closer to the predicted tab than to the confirmed tab. Only the official graphic moves a name into the confirmed list.
Bench notes that are not a second XI
The wider Argentina list has enough forwards and midfielders to change the look of the second half without a new prediction. José Manuel López — Palmeiras, Santiago Castro — Roma, Nicolás Paz — Como, Franco Mastantuono — Fiorentina and Giuliano Simeone — Atlético Madrid are all on the September squad list and none of them is required for the farewell photograph. If Scaloni starts the senior forward line, those names are the plausible hour-mark changes. Writing them as a second predicted XI would fake a certainty the first sketch already does not have. They belong in the conversation as options, which is all this paragraph is.
Questions people ask
What is the confirmed Argentina lineup vs Benin?
Emiliano Martínez; Agustín Giay, Cristian Romero, Nicolás Otamendi, Nicolás Tagliafico; Rodrigo De Paul, Enzo Fernández, Alexis Mac Allister; Lionel Messi, Julián Álvarez, Lautaro Martínez. Scaloni lines up 4-3-3 for the farewell.
Will Messi start?
Yes. Messi starts as captain — his 208th and final Argentina appearance.
Who is missing?
Juan Foyth and Thiago Almada are out injured. Nahuel Molina and Leandro Paredes were not on the published squad list, after earlier suspensions.
What formation will Argentina use?
A confirmed 4-3-3: De Paul, Enzo Fernández and Mac Allister in midfield behind Messi, Álvarez and Lautaro Martínez. Benin line up in a 4-2-3-1.
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