Sept 15 (Reuters) – Lionel Messi has been called up by Argentina to make a farewell appearance in a home friendly in October following his international retirement, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) confirmed on Tuesday.
“We invited the best player in the world to play, the icon of our selection, our captain Lionel Andres Messi, to have a deserved farewell on October 6, here in Argentina,” AFA President Claudio Tapia said on social media.
Argentina will play three home friendlies during the September 21-October 6 FIFA international window, their first matches since the World Cup.
They will take on Benin in Buenos Aires’ Monumental Stadium on October 6, where Messi, who announced his retirement from international football last month, has been invited to play his farewell match.
Argentina will also face Bolivia at Cordoba’s Mario Kempes Stadium on September 30 before moving to Buenos Aires to host Burkina Faso on October 3.
The Bolivia match will be played with capacity reduced by 50% as part of FIFA sanctions relating to incidents during this year’s World Cup.
“Footballers Messi, (Rodrigo) De Paul and (Giovani) Lo Celso will be in attendance to take part in the final friendly on October 6. Meanwhile, the names of the players called up from the local league will be announced on Friday,” the AFA said in a statement announcing the squad.
Leandro Paredes, Nahuel Molina and Thiago Almada must serve suspensions of 10, seven and one match respectively for their roles in an altercation after the World Cup final against Spain.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Emiliano Martinez, Juan Musso, Geronimo Rulli.
Defenders: Agustin Giay, Leonardo Balerdi, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Juan Foyth, Facundo Medina, Nicolas Tagliafico, Roman Vega.
Midfielders: Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister, Valentin Barco, Giovani Lo Celso, Exequiel Palacios, Rodrigo De Paul, Nicolas Paz, Franco Mastantuono.
Forwards: Matias Soule, Giuliano Simeone, Nicolas Gonzalez, Gianluca Prestianni, Jose Manuel Lopez, Santiago Castro, Julian Alvarez, Lautaro Martinez, Lionel Messi.
(Reporting by Angelica Medina in Mexico CityEditing by Toby Davis)
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