Benin, Argentina’s rivals: Santa Fe is 14% of nation out to stun Messi | OneFootball

Benin is the unexpected guest at Lionel Messi’s final dance with the Argentina national team, and many will have heard its name for the first time when the AFA announced it as part of the three friendlies the Scaloneta will play during the next FIFA window. Where is it? What is its territory like? And, above all, what is its football like?

First, it has to be placed on the map: it is in West Africa and borders Togo, Nigeria, Niger, and Burkina Faso, coincidentally Argentina’s other opponent in Buenos Aires. With an area of 114,763 square kilometers, if we compare it with Argentina’s provinces it would be 14% smaller than Santa Fe, but 12% larger than Catamarca. With an estimated population of 15.2 million inhabitants — 135 per km² — 90% of its people work in the informal labor market, although its main economic activity is cotton production.

Returning to football, the country’s most popular sport, Benin is ranked 93rd in the FIFA rankings — the lowest of the three scheduled opponents — and, of course, it has never played in a World Cup, although it came close in 2026: it finished third in Group C of the African qualifiers — topped by South Africa — level on points with Nigeria, which advanced on goal difference.

That is not its only connection with the Nigerian national team: its coach is Gernot Rohr, who was in charge of the Super Eagles at Russia 2018. Before that clash, he said: “We adore Leo Messi, everyone loves him, but for us it doesn’t matter if it is his last World Cup; we are not here to watch Messi play. In the world there is no mercy, there is no compassion. Even though we care a lot about Messi, we cannot give him a gift. Messi has played very well, he is at a very high level.”

Rojo’s goal avoided disaster, and the 2-1 win on that June 26 eight years ago secured qualification for the national team then coached by Jorge Sampaoli, with Scaloni as his assistant. In the end, it was neither Messi’s last match nor his last World Cup, and now he really will say goodbye against a team coached by Rohr.

For Benin’s Cheetahs, meanwhile, it will be an absolute debut. Although it meant a change in their schedule, as they had been due to play Tunisia, making the eight-thousand-kilometer trip to Buenos Aires will give them the chance to play a match with the best footballer in the world and put their country’s name into football history. Days earlier they will face Argentina’s other opponent, Burkina Faso — on September 25 — and then Mauritania — on the 29th, in Ivory Coast — both in Group F of the qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.