Will Lionel Messi play vs. Angola? Argentina star’s role in November friendly reportedly revealed
Lionel Messi will have his final chance to wear the Argentina jersey in 2025 during the November international break, when La Albiceleste travel to Africa to face Angola. With several questions surrounding the starting XI, the Inter Miami star’s role has now reportedly been revealed.
With the MLS playoffs underway and Inter Miami reaching the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time in club history, there were doubts about how much Messi would feature for Argentina. Still, with only one friendly on the schedule, head coach Lionel Scaloni has reportedly made a clear decision on Messi’s involvement for Friday’s match.
According to Argentina insider Gastón Edul, Lionel Messi will start for Argentina against Angola. With the African nation celebrating its 50th independence anniversary, one of the conditions tied to the reported appearance fee paid to the AFA was Messi’s participation, and the captain is now expected to be in the lineup.
Beyond Messi’s inclusion, the Argentine journalist also reported that Villarreal’s Juan Foyth will be the starting right back. With both Nahuel Molina and Gonzalo Montiel out of the squad, Scaloni is expected to test alternative options on the right side of the defense.
Argentina began training in Alicante on Tuesday after dealing with several setbacks to the original squad list over recent days. Still, despite the absence of multiple regular starters, Messi remains one of the guaranteed names for the friendly against Angola.
Argentina and the shortest tour of the Scaloni era
For the November window, Argentina initially planned a two-match tour with friendlies against Angola and India, but the second game was never finalized, leaving one fixture still up for grabs. Morocco later emerged as an option, but after the AFA reportedly requested a €10 million fee to stage the match, talks collapsed.
With training camp now underway in Alicante, Argentina will have its shortest international tour since Scaloni took over. With the match against Angola scheduled for Friday the 14th, players will be released immediately afterward and will not return to Spain for additional training sessions, meaning the entire national-team gathering will last just six days and include only one game.