According to Argentinian media outlet TyC Sports, Messi will play his farewell match for the Argentina national team on October 6th local time at the Estadio Monumental against the Benin national team. In addition to reuniting Messi with former teammates, the match will also feature a special old rival: Benin's 73-year-old head coach Gernot Rohr. The last time the two faced each other in an international match was at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

During the 2018 World Cup, Rohr was the head coach of the Nigeria national team. In the final round of Group D, Nigeria and Argentina met in a crucial encounter, directly competing for a spot in the Round of 16.

At that time, the Argentina team, coached by Jorge Sampaoli, was in a very difficult position. The team had drawn 1-1 with Iceland in their opening match and then suffered a crushing 0-3 defeat to Croatia, leaving their qualification prospects hanging by a thread. Therefore, the match against Nigeria became a vital battle that Argentina had to win at all costs.

Before the match, Rohr had publicly spoken about Messi, stating that Nigeria would not hold back because of their opponent's special status.

Rohr said at the time, "We all like Messi, the whole world loves him. But for us, it doesn't matter if this is his last World Cup or not. We are not here to watch Messi play."

"In this world, there is no pity and no sympathy. Although we really like Messi, we cannot give him any gifts. Messi has always played excellently and maintained a very high level of competition."

That match was played at the Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg. In the first half, Messi received a brilliant pass from Éver Banega, controlled the ball with his thigh, and then scored with his right foot, giving Argentina a 1-0 lead.

However, shortly after the start of the second half, Victor Moses equalized for Nigeria with a penalty kick, once again putting Argentina in danger of elimination.

At a critical moment, Marcos Rojo scored the winning goal, helping Argentina ultimately defeat Nigeria 2-1 and narrowly advance to the Round of 16 as the second-placed team in their group, while Rohr's Nigeria was eliminated in the group stage.

Eight years later, Rohr will meet Messi again, but this time the circumstances are completely different. Today, Rohr is the head coach of the Benin national team, and Messi is about to end his career with the Argentina national team.

Upon learning that Benin would be the opponent for Messi's farewell match, Rohr stated, "This will be a historic moment. Everyone greatly admires him. For all the players, coaching staff, and the entire nation of Benin, it is a tremendous honor to be the opponent in Messi's last national team match."

It is worth mentioning that Rohr also plans to make a special request to Messi during this reunion.

According to Nigerian media outlet Legit, Rohr revealed that he still has the jersey Messi gave him after the 2018 World Cup match, but he did not ask Messi to sign it at the time.

Rohr said, "I already have one of his jerseys; he gave it to me after that match in Saint Petersburg. However, this time I will ask him to sign the jersey because he didn't sign it for me in 2018."

Now, Benin has been invited to be the opponent for Messi's national team farewell match. For Rohr, this is not only another encounter with the Argentina team but also a special reunion with Messi after eight years.

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