Lionel Messi's Argentina to face Australia in Kochi, India in international friendly: Report

Argentina confirmed their plans to visit Kerala in November.

The Argentina national football team have already qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup edition as they aim to prepare themselves to be able to defend their title in the USA. However, Lionel Messi & co could be in for an interesting experience in their preparation for the World Cup when it comes to playing friendlies before the end of 2025.

The FIFA-approved break in November is going to be the final one that will be available for national teams to play matches in 2025. It now appears that the Argentine national team might be arriving in India to play a friendly match during that specific break.

It’s now being reported by AsianetNews that Argentina are set to play an international friendly match against Australia in Kochi in the November international break. The match is being planned to be played at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi, which also hosts the home matches for Indian Super League (ISL) side Kerala Blasters.

Argentina to play in Kerala in November international window

The November international break will officially happen from November 10 to November 18. That means the match is being planned to possibly take place during this period. It won’t exactly be that easy for the players involved, considering that the majority of the Argentina national team players currently play in Europe. Messi himself will have to travel from the USA to Kochi if this match actually happens in the capital of Kerala.

For the time being, nothing has been confirmed by either the Argentine football federation or the Australian football federation in this regard. Neither has the Kerala government, who are rumoured to be the one bringing Argentina to India, given any official statement on whether this game will happen.

However, the Kerala Government have been accused of having spent ₹130 crores for the promise of fulfilling the prospect of bringing Messi to play a match in the state. With Kerala having a huge fan following for the Argentina football team and Messi in particular, it now looks like they are pushing to make this dream come true in the November international break.

Lionel Messi set for India tour in late 2025

Lionel Messi, meanwhile, has already been confirmed for a tour of India in December (2025). In what is being labelled as the ‘GOAT tour’, the Argentine ace will be starting his tour in Kolkata on December 12.

As part of his Kolkata tour, Messi is expected to have a meet-and-greet session, and take part in an unveiling of a statue after him. He will also be watching the GOAT Cup – a seven-a-side football match that will feature Messi and other sportspeople like Bhaichung Bhutia and Sourav Ganguly.

After that, Messi is set to head to Ahmedabad on December 13 for an event. He will also be visiting Mumbai on December 14, where he will be hosting a few matches like the GOAT Cup and might interact with the likes of Shah Rukh Khan and Leander Paes.

Messi’s tour of India will conclude on December 15, when he travels to the capital and is primed to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence. He is also expected to interact with Virat Kohli before attending the GOAT Cup final, too.

However, it appears that Messi might be visiting India before that, with a trip to Kochi where he might lead his Argentina team to face Australia, who have also already qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

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