ot for the first time, Lionel Messi is returning to the Argentina national team. This occasion, however, will be accompanied by a sense of completion and celebration rather than obligation, as the country bids farewell to probably the greatest footballer ever. Messi will wear the Argentina shirt one last time this week for a friendly in Buenos Aires against Benin (who else?!) after he was invited back for a celebratory runout following his decision to retire from international football after the World Cup final.

He has retired before. In 2016, having suffered heartbreak in a major international final for the third year in a row, Messi was seemingly done. "This is tough and a difficult time," he said after the Copa América Centenario final defeat to Chile. "The end has come for me and our team. It has been four finals – it just wasn't for me unfortunately. I looked for it and wanted it so badly, but it didn't happen. This is best for everyone – for me and for a lot of people that wish this. The team has ended for me, a decision made. I tried many times and I leave without being able to obtain it."

Fortunately, about six weeks later after a national campaign urging him to change his mind, Messi confirmed he wasn't quitting. Another 10 years with the national team would follow, and what a time it proved to be. Having finally won the World Cup – as well as earning more caps (208 after Tuesday's game) and scoring more goals (125) for Argentina than anyone – Messi no longer has anything to prove to anyone.

Given what Argentina have achieved in the last five years, the 16 barren years of Messi's international career feel like something from an alternate reality. They lost Copa América finals in 2007, 2015 and 2016, as well as the World Cup final to Germany in 2014.

And it wasn't as if there was a huge amount of promise for Argentina immediately following Messi's 2016 U-turn. Argentina's participation at the 2018 World Cup was a debacle. They were poor in qualifying – reports of a player mutiny stirred after a 3-0 defeat to Croatia in the group stage – and then they were dumped out by France in the last 16 (admittedly, they did run the eventual champions close in an instant classic in Kazan).

Messi took time away once again after Russia 2018. It was a difficult period for Argentina, who parted ways with Jorge Sampaoli as coach and appointed his assistant in his place. It was an unpopular decision that Diego Maradona slammed in his characteristically earnest manner. "He's a great guy, but he can't even direct traffic," said Maradona. "How can we give the Argentina team to him? Are we all crazy?"

He was, of course, talking about Lionel Scaloni, who quite plausibly doesn't know how to direct traffic, and it's highly likely he never has. But you know what he's done a pretty good job of directing? The Argentina team.

Scaloni – and Pablo Aimar – seemingly did enough to convince Messi his absence need not be permanent, and what a curious quirk of fate this turned out to be, given Scaloni reportedly only got the job because he was an easy and cheap option. Seven years on, he's the only Argentina coach to have won the World Cup and multiple Copa América titles – and Messi has been essential to all those successes.

Scaloni is also the Argentina coach Messi has played for the most (79 caps), and that feels symbolic. Scaloni has excelled in creating a team that maximises Messi's influence at the top end of the pitch without needing him to muck in defensively.

Other players pick up the slack by working that bit harder, but they seem to relish doing his dirty work as if it is an honour to help Messi focus on what he does best. Those famous images of the players walking out to warm up at the 2026 World Cup, looking like Messi was leading his own personal militia, supports the idea they were all in on it.

And why wouldn't they be? After consecutive Copa América wins either side of glory at Qatar 2022 – their first World Cup triumph since 1986 – and a run to the final at this summer's World Cup, Argentina have enjoyed the kind of success they had not seen for a generation.

While no player has played in more men's World Cup matches than Messi (34) and he shares the record for most editions played in (six), much of his legacy in the tournament will be linked inextricably to the last two. Of his 33 World Cup goal involvements, a tournament record, 22 came in the 2022 and 2026 campaigns. His 10 goal involvements in Qatar four years ago was the joint most at the tournament; and only Kylian Mbappé (14) bettered his 12 in North America.

Linked to that, Messi did briefly break the record for most World Cup goals in tournament history when he reached 18 with a double against Austria this year to move past Miroslav Klose – though his final total of 21 was one short of Mbappé's 22.

Messi's output this summer was also helped by him scoring in nine successive World Cup matches, a run stretching back to the successful 2022 campaign in Qatar and a tournament record. He set another record by becoming the first player to start three men's World Cup finals (2014, 2022 and 2026), with Cafu the only other player to even feature in three.

Qatar 2022 was obviously the most significant. This success robbed his critics of the only stick they could beat him with. When Copa América success in 2021 wasn't quite enough to satisfy certain people – who would point to the fact that Pelé and Maradona had won the World Cup – Messi eventually got there in 2022 and played the role of Argentina's inspiration. That was his final frontier, and while it may not have made the 2026 failure any easier to take, it ensured a bulletproof legacy.

The significance of Scaloni's impact should not be understated. A host of Argentina coaches had tried and failed to win international titles with Messi – and some of them had more individual talent in the squad.

With that in mind, Tuesday's game will serve as a reminder that Argentina are entering a new era, one slightly clouded by the uncertainty of what they can achieve without Messi. Their talisman remained their best player until his final match. So, will they adapt without his creative ingenuity and decisiveness, or can the collective work ethic and unity they have cultivated sustain them?

We shall see. For now, though, it's time for Argentina to celebrate what they have achieved with Messi because there is no guarantee it will ever be as good as this again. Argentina had already won the lottery once before with Maradona; it'll surely be a while before they strike gold a third time. Luckily, Messi provided them with memories to last a lifetime.