Lionel Messi to play in Kerala; Argentina football body confirms dates

Lionel Messi's Argentina are set to play in India, confirmed the country's football federation on Saturday, August 23. The much-anticipated game is set to be played in Kerala between November 10-18, the AFA announced.

The Argentina football team's arrival to India has been in the making for a while. It all started with the Kerala government announcing that they were actively trying to bring the football team to play a friendly in India ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026. Despite multiple announcements, no dates were given by the state's sports body.

However, that seems to be a thing of the past as the Argentine federation has confirmed the timeframe of its visit to India. This would be the second time in nearly a decade and a half that the team will be coming to the Indian shores. Earlier in 2011, the Argentina team, which included Lionel Messi, played at the Salt Lake Stadium in India.

Lionel Messi had mesmerised the 70,000 strong crowd in that game with his silky touches and an assist to Nicolas Otamendi.

"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 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)," the AFA said in a statement on Saturday morning.