Dhaka, Sept. 25 -- Lionel Scaloni says he "pushed hard" to persuade Lionel Messi to return for one final appearance with Argentina because he was not sure he would still be in charge when another opportunity came around.

Messi, who retired from international football in August following Argentina's defeat to Spain in the World Cup final, has been called up for a farewell match against Benin at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires on Oct 6.

"I believe that a player like him deserves this. Personally, I did my part because I wanted to be at his farewell," Scaloni is quoted as saying by Reuters.

"Since I don't know if I would be here later, we pushed hard so that he could be in this match. We knew everything he was going through and eve...