Argentina Leave Messi’s No. 10 Vacant for Bolivia Friendly
Argentina will leave Lionel Messi’s No. 10 shirt vacant for Wednesday’s friendly against Bolivia, with Lionel Scaloni delaying any decision on its next wearer until the captain has completed his international farewell.
Argentina’s October schedule and No. 10 status
| Item | Date | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| No. 10 shirt | Current international break | Temporarily unassigned |
| Argentina v Bolivia | Wednesday | Friendly and first match after Messi’s retirement announcement |
| Argentina v Burkina Faso | Sunday | Friendly fixture |
| Messi farewell | October 7 | Planned Monumental appearance against Benin |
Messi announced in late August that he would retire from international football, although the 39-year-old is still set for a final Argentina appearance at the Monumental in Buenos Aires next week. Scaloni confirmed in Córdoba that no player will wear the famous jersey before that occasion.
The Argentina coach said there was no requirement to allocate the shirt for the upcoming friendlies and that the federation would wait until Messi’s farewell had taken place. He added that somebody would ultimately inherit No. 10 because of its significance, but no decision has yet been made.
Messi leaves a considerable international record behind him, having scored 125 goals for Argentina. Scaloni accepts that the world champions will have to find different attacking answers without their long-serving captain, while retaining the possession-based identity that has underpinned the side’s recent success.
The coach said the fixtures offer an opportunity to test alternatives and adjust the team’s approach. Argentina’s intention, however, remains to control the ball and develop any new attacking structure from that foundation.
A substantial part of the squad that lost the World Cup final to Spain by a 1-0 scoreline is expected to be involved during the break, but Scaloni is also preparing to assess younger options. Nico Paz, Roman Vega, Santiago Castro and Valentín Barco are among those in line for minutes against Bolivia and Burkina Faso.
After Sunday’s match against Burkina Faso, Argentina are due back in Buenos Aires on October 7 for Messi’s final international event. The meeting with Benin at the Monumental is intended to provide a national farewell for the country’s all-time leading scorer before the next chapter begins.
