'Nowhere' will Argentina find another Messi, says Scaloni

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni held back tears on Tuesday after Lionel Messi's farewell international game, a 3-0 win over Benin, and said no one could fill the gap the captain leaves.

Messi scored once and set up two goals at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires, in front of a crowd of 85,000 who turned up to see his last appearance for the national team.

Asked where Argentina could find another Messi, Scaloni answered with one word: "Nowhere."

"We are working with young players now. This process will go on. But the feeling of having Messi next to you, nothing compares to it."

Scaloni's voice cracked as he described the moment. "My eyes are watering, because there is so much going through my head right now. It will hurt not to see him anymore." 

The pair won four major trophies together: the 2021 Copa America, the 2022 World Cup, the 2022 Finalissima and the 2024 Copa America.

"It was truly like a dream come true," Scaloni said. "I never thought I could be the coach of the best player in history."

"We will be grateful to him forever for giving us the chance to be with him," he added.

Scaloni said Messi stood apart from everyone he had known.

"I have never seen such an aura in anyone else in my life," he said.

"The player who could make a win possible in an impossible match with his extraordinary talent is no longer with you," the coach said.

Messi, 39, announced his retirement at the end of August. The send-off came two and a half months after Argentina lost the World Cup final to Spain in New Jersey.

He leaves as Argentina's record scorer and most-capped player. Before the Benin game he had 126 goals in 208 appearances.