With Messi in the squad, Argentina end the year against Angola in Luanda | OneFootball

Lionel Scaloni's team will play their last friendly match of 2025 in Africa today, as part of the 50th anniversary of Angolan independence.

The Argentina National Team will face this Friday from 1:00 PM (Argentina time) Angola at the Estadio 11 de Noviembre in Luanda, in the friendly match corresponding to the November FIFA Date. The match will be broadcast by Canal 7 of Santiago del Estero.

This will be the last match of the year for the Albiceleste, who are preparing for the Finalissima against Spain in March 2026 and will join the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of independence of the African country.

The team led by Lionel Scaloni comes into this match after a double victory on their tour of the United States: 1-0 against Venezuela and 6-0 against Puerto Rico. On this occasion, the coach will face the match with several important absences, as Emiliano Martínez was not called up to give other goalkeepers some playing time, Enzo Fernández is still dealing with a knee issue, and Julián Álvarez, Nahuel Molina, and Giuliano Simeone will not be able to play because they have not received the yellow fever vaccine, a mandatory requirement to enter Angola.

Among the new faces on the list, the young players Joaquín Panichelli, Gianluca Prestianni, Máximo Perrone stand out, as well as the return of Valentín Barco, while Scaloni decided not to call up players from Argentine football because this weekend the playoffs and qualifications for international cups will be decided. In addition, the Albiceleste will debut their new World Cup jersey, which was officially presented a few days ago.

Before the trip, the squad trained in Elche, Spain, and held an open practice at the Manuel Martínez Valero stadium, where more than 20,000 fans cheered on the team. At the end, Lionel Messi received a local club jersey with his classic number 10 from businessman Cristian Bragarnik.

For its part, Angola is going through an inconsistent period. The team led by Patrice Beaumelle failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, finishing fourth in Group D behind Cape Verde (23) and Cameroon (19), and will look to end the year with a historic performance against the world champion.

Probable Argentina lineup: Gerónimo Rulli; Juan Foyth, Cristian Romero, Nicolás Otamendi, Nicolás Tagliafico; Rodrigo De Paul, Alexis Mac Allister, Giovani Lo Celso or Nicolás Paz; Lionel Messi, Lautaro Martínez, and Thiago Almada. Coach: Lionel Scaloni.

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