The Argentina national team landed in Luanda on Thursday, November 13, to face Angola as part of its last friendly match of 2025 in preparation for the 2026 World Cup to be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Lionel Scaloni’s side have had a great year, dominating the Conmebol qualifiers, finishing top with 38 points and nine points ahead of second-placed Ecuador.
In their last friendly matches, the Argentines defeated Venezuela 1-0 and thrashed Puerto Rico 6-0, showing a high collective level led by captain Lionel Messi, an Inter Miami player who is about to play in the MLS conference semifinals and has accumulated quite a few matches recently, which has caused uncertainty as to whether he will be available to play in Africa.
Argentina’s last match of the year: will Lionel Messi play against Angola?
Lionel Scaloni has been clear about Lionel Messi’s participation in their visit to Africa to face Angola, determining that he will start along with other world champion players who will be present on the pitch:
Messi is going to play. At first I don’t know how many minutes, then we’ll see. But the people will be able to see him
The world champions landed in Luanda after their training camp in Alicante, Spain, where they received a lot of affection from 20,000 fans at the Estadio Manuel Martinez Velero. On their arrival in Africa, Scaloni gave details of the line-up for their World Cup warm-up match:
It’s going to be a totally reliable team, which has played a lot together. Many world champions will be on the court and people will be able to enjoy it
Lionel Scaloni talks about the importance of his friendly against Angola and the importance for new players called up
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said that this friendly is a commitment that must be taken seriously and to test players who are looking to earn a place in the final list for the 2026 World Cup:
Many of our players are playing for the chance to be in the World Cup squad. There is nothing to give away, we will try to play a good game controlling it our way
He also highlighted the addition of new players to replace recent departures, which will serve to see more talent from his country, who could catch his eye and earn a place in future call-ups. He also showed respect for his rivals, who despite not qualifying for the World Cup have good level players competing in Europe.
The match is scheduled for Friday, November 14 at 11:00 a.m. ET at the Estadio 11 de Novembro in Luanda in what will be the last match of the year for a team that is preparing to defend its crown obtained in Qatar against 48 countries in the 2026 World Cup.
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