Argentina’s national soccer team, including famous player Lionel Messi, is set to play friendly matches against two big teams from Africa, Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire, this March.
Messi will be playing against Nigeria again, a team he’s familiar with, in China. After facing Nigeria, Argentina will play against Cote d’Ivoire, a team they haven’t met since 2006.
Argentina won the FIFA World Cup in December 2022 in Qatar, with Messi playing a big role. Since then, they’ve had a great record, winning most of their games and scoring a lot of goals while letting in very few.
The first match against Nigeria will be at the Olympics Sports Center in Hangzhou. Then, Argentina will play against Cote d’Ivoire at the Workers’ Stadium in Beijing.
Messi has a history of playing against Nigeria, including leading Argentina to victory in the U-20 World Cup in 2005 and the 2008 Olympics. They’ve also met in the 2010, 2014, and 2018 FIFA World Cups, with Messi scoring several times.
It’s been a while since Argentina played against Cote d’Ivoire – their last match was in the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
These friendly games are part of Argentina’s preparations for defending their Copa America title this summer.
In 2024, Messi is looking forward to winning more with Argentina, especially in the upcoming Copa America in the USA.
This tournament might be the last time he plays with some teammates, like Angel Di Maria from Benfica, who plans to retire from international soccer after the tournament.
Argentina aims to repeat their successful performance from the last Copa America held in Brazil.