The announcement was made on Monday that Lionel Messi would lead the reigning world champions Argentina in a friendly match against Australia in Beijing. This will be followed by another match in Indonesia.
A rematch of Argentina and Australia’s encounter from the round of 16 of the World Cup in Qatar will take place on June 15 at the Workers’ Stadium in the Chinese city of Beijing.
Messi scored the game-winning goal for Argentina in their 2-1 victory, which ultimately led to them winning the World Cup.
On Weibo, a platform similar to Twitter, the embassy of Argentina in China announced that Lionel Messi would captain Argentina’s national team in an upcoming friendly match against Australia on June 15. The match will take place in Beijing.
Separately, the national team has announced that they will play another friendly match against Indonesia on June 19 in Jakarta. This match will be part of a “Asia Tour” throughout the summer.
James Johnson, the chief executive officer of Football Australia, stated that playing in China will further strengthen connections between the two countries after years of rocky relations between the two nations.
“Football is truly a global game, and for Australia to be invited to play this match in China, and against the world number one, we hope this will open further opportunities for our two nations to work together both on and off the football field,” said Johnson. “We hope this will open further opportunities for our two nations to work together both on and off the football field.”
“It’s been 15 years since our senior men’s national team played in China, and we are truly excited to be returning to face Argentina at the newly renovated Workers’ Stadium in Beijing,” he continued. “We are truly excited to be returning to play in China.”
After China’s capital city of Beijing unexpectedly abandoned its tight viral control measures at the end of last year, the country has just recently started to welcome back international sport.