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Benin, a small West African nation that shares a border with footballing giant Nigeria, is accustomed to being overlooked. Yet on Tuesday, the Cheetahs will find themselves at the centre of the global footballing universe when they face Argentina in Buenos Aires in what will be Lionel Messi's last ever international appearance.
The friendly fixture at the Estadio Monumental is expected to draw a sold-out crowd, with fans eager to bid farewell to the man widely regarded as the greatest player of all time. For Benin, the occasion represents an extraordinary spotlight — one that few associated with the national team could have anticipated when the match was first arranged.
Argentina, the reigning World Cup runners-up, warmed up for the game by thrashing another West African side, Burkina Faso, 7-0. Many observers will expect a similarly lopsided scoreline against a Benin team whose players are drawn from clubs in Finland, Switzerland's second tier and the South African Premiership.
A special edition Argentina kit has been produced to commemorate Messi's farewell, and the shirt he wears during the match could become one of the most valuable pieces of football memorabilia ever sold. Doug Bierton, founder of Classic Football Shirts, believes the jersey ranks alongside the most iconic items in the sport's history.
"To get hold of a Messi match-worn shirt is incredibly tough because everybody knows how valuable they are," Bierton said. "So every player on the pitch is looking to swap with him. It's the first time a legend has bowed out with a special edition shirt."
Bierton placed the shirt in the same category as Diego Maradona's jersey from the 1986 World Cup, worn when he scored his infamous "Hand of God" goal against England. That shirt fetched £7.1m at auction in May 2022. Another comparable item is Zinedine Zidane's shirt from his final France appearance — the 2006 World Cup final, which ended with his sending-off for headbutting Italy's Marco Materazzi.
The fact that Messi's shirt is being worn in a friendly, yet is still held in such high esteem, underlines the widespread belief that he is the finest footballer ever to play the game. Bierton expects that Benin's players will not be the only ones hoping to secure the jersey once the final whistle blows.
Among those in Buenos Aires is Benin captain Steve Mounie, who plays his club football for German Bundesliga side FC Augsburg. The forward, familiar to English fans from his spell at Huddersfield Town between 2017 and 2020, has been a mainstay of the national team for more than a decade but had never played for his country outside Africa — until now.
Mounie described the chance to be part of Messi's final match as an unexpected honour. "When the coach called me and told me about this game. We didn't know it was going to be the last game of Leo Messi," he told BBC Sport. "It was like the cherry on top of the cake. It adds some more values to this big event for Benin, and it's going to be a big event for the world of football."
Injury, however, will prevent Mounie from taking any part in the match. Rather than remain at home to recover, the striker chose to travel with the squad — and even paid for his own plane ticket to make the journey.
"I cannot play," he admitted. "I just came to join the team, to support the team. And, I need to be honest with this because football is my passion. I came for myself. I even paid for my own ticket to come here."
Mounie added that he would accept whatever role the coaching staff assign him, whether on the bench or in the stands. "I would prefer to be on the bench, but if they tell me that I need to be in the stand, I will be in the stand. There is no problem, but I want to see the game from a pitch view."
The result of the friendly carries little competitive weight, but Mounie believes the occasion offers his teammates a valuable opportunity to raise their profiles and enhance the reputation of Beninese football on the world stage.
"We are a team that is very disciplined," he said. "We have a lot of young talent in the team right now that have good technical skills. We are always willing to go forward. We play pressing football, but when we cannot, we stick together and we fight."
He drew a parallel between Benin's collective spirit and that of their illustrious opponents. "We are a team like a family, and I think we can relate to this Argentina team because they feel like they are like a family too, which Messi is a father to."
While Messi is unlikely to complete the full 90 minutes, the expectation is that he will be withdrawn in the second half once Argentina have established a comfortable lead, giving the home crowd the chance to salute their country's greatest sporting hero. What follows the final whistle may be just as memorable, with players from both sides likely to converge on the departing captain in the hope of securing a memento.
For Benin, the night represents far more than a routine friendly. It is a rare moment in the global eye — one that Mounie and his teammates intend to seize, even if the odds are stacked heavily against them.
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