Why Argentina will only play Angola in the next FIFA break | OneFootball

This Friday, a completely unexpected piece of news was revealed: the Argentina National Team will only play one friendly match during the November FIFA international break. It has become customary for national teams to play two matches during these windows, but in the end, the Albiceleste will only have one opponent in the coming weeks. And now, the reason has been revealed…

With the focus on preparing for the upcoming 2026 World Cup, the reigning world champions are playing friendlies to help get the squad ready. It was already known in advance that on Friday, November 14, they will face Angola in Luanda, but this new development caught everyone’s attention due to the unusual decision just a handful of days before the matches.

The truth is that Argentina will only play one friendly because they couldn’t find another opponent. As illogical as it may sound, after the other match fell through, the Argentine Football Association was unable to secure a rival available for that date. With practically all countries already having matches scheduled, it became difficult to find an available opponent.

Initially, the Albiceleste were set to face India to complete an exotic tour, but the match was later canceled. Despite having several weeks to organize a new fixture, the top authorities at the AFA were unable to coordinate with another country, which is why there will only be one match during the November FIFA window.

Nevertheless, Lionel Scaloni will continue with his clear intention of shaping the entire squad that will travel to the United States, Mexico, and Canada in June 2026. Unlike the recent FIFA window, where they played against Venezuela and Puerto Rico and won both matches, now he will only be able to test tactics and players against Angola, as there is no other match to assess his team.

Another noteworthy point, and a frequent cause for complaints on social media, is that Argentina only plays against countries of lower ranking. Just to give two quick examples, Brazil will face Senegal and Tunisia, both qualified for the upcoming 2026 World Cup. Meanwhile, Bolivia will test themselves against Japan and South Korea, two of the main powers in the Asian continent.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.