The Lionel Messi-led Argentina team is most likely to face Australia in the eagerly-awaited friendly match in Kerala this November, officials 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.
A member of the Argentine support staff is expected to land in Kochi on Wednesday "for venue inspection". There were uncertainties 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 speculation to rest, the reigning world champions announced a few weeks later that they would play a FIFA friendly against an unnamed opponent in Kerala in November.
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Kerala Sports Minister V Abdurahiman also confirmed the team's visit for the game. "The Argentine national team, led by Lionel Messi, 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 said.
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 also scheduled.
The move to bring Messi-led Argentina to Kerala first gained steam in September 2024 when Abdurahiman 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.
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