Lionel Messi’s Argentina confirm visit to Kerala for friendly match; date, potential venue and all you need to know

Lionel Messi is all set to visit India with the Argentina national team in November this year, the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) have confirmed. La Albiceleste will play a FIFA friendly in Kerala in between November 10th to 18th, although the opponent hasn't been named yet.

The venue is yet to be confirmed as well, but the match is likely to take place in Kochi. India has a lot of Argentina fans, who broke into frenzied celebrations following Argentina's 2022 FIFA World Cup triumph.

The AFA also acknowledged fans from Kerala after the historic World Cup win. News of Lionel Messi's possible arrival in the country has been doing the rounds for a while.

Kerala Sports Minister V Adburahiman had previously announced that La Albiceleste would visit the Indian state later this year. However, the event was shrouded in doubt as AFA were yet to confirm it due to contract signing issues with the Kerala government.

It now appears that a breakthrough has been reached, as the Argentine Football Federation have confirmed their involvement via a statement, which read:

“The Argentine national team, led by Lionel Scaloni, will have two FIFA friendly windows 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 second, a FIFA friendlies in November, from the 10th to the 18th, will be played in Luanda, Angola, and Kerala, India (opponents to be determined).”

Adburahiman also confirmed the news via his X handle, posting:

"World Champions Lionel Messi and his team will play in Kerala in November 2025,"

The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner last visited India in 2011, when Argentina played a friendly against Venezuela at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata.

How many trophies has Lionel Messi won with Argentina?

Lionel Messi has won four trophies with the Argentina National team so far. La Pulga won the Copa America with La Albiceleste in 2021, and successfully defended the title last year.

Messi also secured the Finalissima in 2022, before lifting the FIFA World Cup in December that year by defeating France in the final. The Argentine maestro also won the FIFA Under-20 World Cup with the youth team in 2005.

The 38-year-old, meanwhile, secured Gold with his national team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The Inter Miami superstar is currently preparing to defend his title at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

About the author

Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over seven years at Sportskeeda. He has written more than 9500 articles for the website, and has garnered close to 21 million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.

Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.

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Edited by Deepungsu Pandit