Benin goalkeeper vows to resist Messi ahead of Argentina farewell match

Benin’s goalkeeper has issued a challenge to Messi ahead of a match billed as the Argentina star’s final appearance for his country. Marcel Dandjinou says he will try to stop him scoring, even if a penalty is awarded in the closing minutes. The farewell is still expected, rather than already having taken place.

Argentina are due to face Benin on Tuesday at the Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires. Asked about the prospect of a late penalty if Messi had yet to score, Dandjinou replied: “I’m a goalkeeper, and my job is to stop balls. Even if it’s the last minute and Messi takes the penalty, I’ll try to save it.”

The goalkeeper also rejected the idea of gifting Messi a goal for the occasion. “We are here to celebrate Messi, but nobody told us we had to give him a goal. And Messi doesn’t need gifts; if he wants to score, he has to do everything he can to make it happen,” he said. He said Benin would come to compete, while acknowledging the occasion’s significance: “Something like this happens only once in our careers, because it’s Messi’s last match. It’s a special game.”

Dandjinou called Messi “one of the kings of football” and named him, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, among the players he watched growing up and learned a great deal from. The goalkeeper also revealed that almost all his teammates hoped to get the star’s shirt after the match. On the pitch, however, his message was clear: no gifts for Messi.