Lionel Messi's farewell match for the Argentina national team was marked by an unusual coincidence.
As reported by İdman.Biz, all three goals in Argentina's 3-0 victory over Benin were scored by players wearing shirt numbers that Messi himself had worn during his international career.
Nicolas Otamendi opened the scoring while wearing the No. 19 shirt. Messi also wore No. 19 during the early years of his Argentina career.
The second goal was scored by Alexis Paz, who wore No. 18 – another number Messi used at the beginning of his international career.
The third goal came from Messi himself, with the Argentina captain converting a penalty in the 71st minute.
As a result, every goal in Messi's farewell match was connected to one of the shirt numbers he wore during his time with the national team.
There was another symbolic detail after the final whistle. As souvenirs, Messi took not only the match ball but also the referee's cards. The gesture drew attention given that his Argentina career famously began with a red card.
Messi was sent off less than a minute after coming on as a substitute on his senior international debut against Hungary in August 2005.
