MASSIVE NEWS: Lionel Messi's Argentina set to play international friendlies with Brazil in Kerala?

November is set to be a huge month for football lovers in India. On Saturday (August 23), the Argentina Football Association had confirmed the national team's visit to Kerala as a part of their international friendlies. The development comes as a part of a project that was mutually designed in accordance with the Government of Kerala in 2024. While a lot of rumours have floated around Argentina's possible opponents in the friendlies, there is a huge update on the cards.

If the reports are to be believed, Argentina's South American arch-rivals Brazil could be in line for the friendlies in Kerala. Reporter TV's managing director Anto Augustin confirmed on Tuesday (August 26) that an official invitation has been sent to the Brazil Football Federation regarding the same. If this comes through, it could increase the excitement of the project to unprecedented levels, given that Brazil and Argentina are the most followed international football teams in Kerala with an active rivalry between fans.

Last week, fans of Argentina and Messi were vocal on social media, hoping for Saudi Arabia to be one of the teams as they had beaten the World Champions in the 2022 edition of the FIFA World Cup. Kerala Sports Minister Abdur Rehman, however, has already confirmed that it will be a competitive team that takes the park against Messi's title-winning squad.

""We will select a team from among FIFA's top 50," said Rehman earlier last week.

"The team which won the World Cup under Lionel Messi, the whole squad, will play here (in Kerala)."

It will be after 14 years that Messi will set foot on Indian shores. In 2011, Argentina's friendly encounter was against Venezuela, a tight game that Argentina won by a slender 1-0 margin.

The friendlies are scheduled from November 10 to 18 with Angola's city of Luanda being the other region where Argentina will visit during this period.