Lionel Messi's trip to India finally confirmed: Argentina to play international friendly in Kerala

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 scheduled to be played in Kerala between November 10 and 18, the AFA announced.

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

However, that now seems to be a thing of the past, as the Argentine federation has confirmed the timeframe of its visit to India. This will be only the second time in nearly a decade and a half that the team will play on Indian soil. The last time was in 2011, when Argentina, featuring Lionel Messi, played at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata.

Messi mesmerised the 70,000-strong crowd in that match with his silky touches and an assist to Nicolss 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 friendly 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.