The match marked Messi’s final appearance for Argentina, bringing his long international career to a close in front of more than 85,000 spectators.
Former Nigeria head coach Gernot Rohr was in charge of Benin for the farewell fixture, which saw Messi play a direct role in all three of Argentina’s goals.
Messi provided the assist for Nicolás Otamendi’s opener from a corner in the 48th minute before setting up Nico Paz for Argentina’s second goal in the 61st minute.
The 39-year-old then converted a penalty in the 71st minute to complete the 3-0 victory and sign off his Argentina career with a goal and two assists.
Speaking after the game, Messi admitted that the occasion was difficult to process emotionally.
“It’s hard to talk,” he said, adding that there were “a lot of emotions” and “a lot of things going through my head.”
Reflecting on his time with the national team, Messi said it had been a huge source of pride to represent Argentina for more than two decades.
“It was a huge source of pride for me to wear this shirt all this time, more than 20 years,” he said.
“Playing for Argentina is the most beautiful thing that can happen to you,” the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star added.
Messi finished his Argentina career as the country’s most-capped player with 208 appearances and its record goalscorer with 126 goals.
The farewell fixture had been announced by FIFA as Messi’s final appearance for Argentina, with Argentine Football Association president Claudio Tapia previously describing it as a deserved farewell for the national team captain.
Before the match, Benin goalkeeper Marcel Dandjinou had insisted that his side would approach the fixture competitively despite its significance for Messi.
“This is football: eleven against eleven. We are not here to do tourism in Argentina, we are here to play and compete,” Dandjinou said.
However, Benin were unable to prevent Messi from ending his international career with a memorable individual performance as Argentina completed a 3-0 victory.
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