Lionel Messi's Argentina most likely to play against Australia in Kerala friendly

Messi's Argentina most likely to play against Australia in Kerala friendly

The Lionel Messi-led Argentina team will most likely face Australia in the eagerly-awaited friendly match in Kerala come November, official sources in the state's sports department said on Tuesday.

No date has been fixed for the game, but it will take place in Kochi on any day between November 12 and November 18, the sources said.

They added that Australia will most likely be the opponent of the South American giants.

Another source said that a member of the Argentine support staff is expected to land in Kochi on Wednesday "for venue inspection." There were some controversies surrounding the team's visit to Kerala, with some reports in early August this year saying that the South American side will not come to the state.

However, putting speculations to rest later in the month, the reigning world champions announced that they would play a FIFA friendly against an unnamed opponent in Kerala in November.

The state's sports minister V Abdurahiman too confirmed the team's visit for the game.

"The Argentine national team, led by Lionel Scaloni, will have two FIFA friendlies in the remainder of 2025. The first, in October, from the 6th to the 14th, will be played in the United States (opponents and cities to be determined)," the Argentine Football Association had written on its official X handle.

"The second, FIFA friendlies in November, from the 10th to the 18th, will be played in Luanda, Angola, and Kerala, India (opponents to be determined)," the AFA statement had read.

Following the Kerala visit, Messi is also expected to embark on a multi-city tour of India in December, with stopovers at Kolkata, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Delhi where a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi is planned.

The move to bring Messi-led Argentina to Kerala first gained steam in September 2024 when Adburahiman travelled to Spain to meet officials of the Argentine Football Association to work out the details.

Argentina's previous visit to India was in 2011 when they faced Venezuela at the Salt Lake stadium in Kolkata.