Ultimately, the Argentine national team will have two African rivals when they tour China for the friendly matches in March

Neither a strong European rival nor a place where logistics are favorable. The AFA confirmed this Monday that the Argentine football team will have two opponents of Africa in the friendly window of March when he will return to China, after having signed an agreement with a company from that country. Regard Nigeria AND Ivory Coasttwo old acquaintances of the Albiceleste, who will put him to the test in preparation for the defense of the Albiceleste title. America’s Cupin the United States.

A couple of weeks ago, when Lionel Scaloni confirmed his continuity as coach in a meeting with the president of the AFA, Claudio Chiqui Tapia, information indicated that in addition to host China, the second rival would be European, at the request of the Santa Fe coach and would start in the middle Croatia -third in Qatar 2022-, Türkiye, Czech Republic OR Hungaryagainst which Lionel Messi had a frustrated debut in 2005.

But everything has changed in the last few days. First of all, AFA announced a formal agreement with the investment company SOUTHGILMORE LLC, a subsidiary of EpicQuest Education Group International, part of the Chinese executive group Zhongfu Sports Co., Ltd. The CEO of the Chinese company, Liu Wei, said visited Lionel Andrés Messi’s property in Ezeiza and held a meeting with Chiqui Tapia, to start coordinating Argentina’s return to Asia, where it had already been in June 2023 to face Australia in Beijing and Indonesia in Jakarta .

They beat both teams 2-0, but beyond football, it created a revolution, so much so that the focus turned to China. In the hotels where the Argentine team stayed, guests walked the corridors “hunting” for the players to take a photo.

This situation did not please Lionel Scaloni. In fact, it was one of the issues that the coach asked to review and which is part of the flash that exploded when the Argentine coach declared that he had to think about what he would do in the immediate future, in the press conference held after the victory against Brazil in Marcaná, for the South American qualifiers, in November.

African rivals tend to be physically demanding and often even try to avoid them due to the strong leg they can use. With Nigeria42nd in the FIFA ranking led by the Argentine national team, which will take place at the Olympic Sports Center stadium in the city of Hangzhou It will be the tenth high-level match, with the particularity that half were at the World Cup and all ended in a victory for the Albiceleste (2-1 in 1994, 1-0 in 2002, 1-0 in 2010, 3-2 in 2014 and 2-1 in 2018).

Argentina’s other victory was a friendly in Dhaka, Bangladesh, 3-1 in 2011. The only draw in history dates back to the 1995 King Fahd Cup (0-0), while the two defeats came in friendlies : 1-4 in Abuja in 2011. and 2-4 in 2017 in Krasonar, Russia.

With Ivory Coast, 49th in the table, the match will be played at the Los Trabajadores stadium in Beijing and there are only two precedents at senior level with victories for the Albiceleste: 16 October 1992, 4-0 in the King Fahd Cup, and in the 2006 World Cup in Germany , 2-1. Furthermore, in China but in Shanghai, they also faced each other in the group stage of the 2008 Olympic Games, with Argentina winning.

The friendlies in June, in the United States

They say that to win in a negotiation at a certain point you also have to give in, and if the trip to China is the opportunity to prepare better in view of the Copa América, the central objective of 2024, perhaps there is also a balance in favor.

Because the Argentine national team, with Lionel Messi, will visit two cities that will not host either the continental tournament or the 2026 World Cup: Between June 3 and 11, which is the FIFA window, it will be presented at Soldier Field in Chicago and FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland.

In the ‘Windy City’, according to information published by the American site Atleticothe rival would be an old acquaintance Ecuadorwho he defeated last September at the Monumental Stadium thanks to a splendid free kick taken by the Rosario captain.

For the second game, the opponent still needs to coordinate but would come out in the middle Guatemala -who did not qualify for the competition- e Honduras -who at that point will already know if they have beaten Costa Rica in the playoffs or will have to watch the Copa América on television-.

Every meeting of the Albiceleste will be a test for everyone. Just like Scaloni said, it was a moment of reflection, a space to refocus. That moment has arrived: it will start in China, in March; It will continue stateside in June and hopefully end with a full party on July 14 at the Hard Rock in Miami, Lionel Messi’s new promised land.