Argentina’s national football team will play two matches in the United States next month after Chinese sporting authorities canceled planned friendlies featuring the World Cup champions. The decision came in the wake of a backlash against Lionel Messi, who failed to play in an Inter Miami match in Hong Kong, sparking widespread anger among fans.
The Argentine Football Association (FA) announced on Thursday that Lionel Scaloni’s squad will face El Salvador at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on March 22, followed by a match against Nigeria at the Coliseum in Los Angeles on March 26.
Originally, Argentina was scheduled to play Nigeria in the Chinese city of Hangzhou and face the Ivory Coast in Beijing. However, Messi’s absence in the Inter Miami match against a local League XI in Hong Kong earlier this month led to the cancellation of the planned friendlies in China.
Messi, who was deemed unfit to play in the Hong Kong friendly, faced significant backlash as the match drew 40,000 fans, with some spectators paying nearly HK$5,000 ($640) for a ticket. The controversy intensified when, just three days later, the 36-year-old Argentine forward came off the bench to play in a friendly match in Tokyo against Vissel Kobe.
Chinese state media, Hong Kong politicians, and fans expressed their frustration and disappointment at Messi’s actions. In response, Messi addressed the situation in a video posted on Weibo, one of China’s largest social media platforms, explaining that his absence from the Hong Kong match was due to an inflamed adductor.
With the friendlies in China canceled, Argentina has shifted its focus to the United States for the upcoming matches against El Salvador and Nigeria. The change in location aims to provide football fans with an opportunity to witness the World Cup champions in action and move past the recent controversy surrounding Messi’s participation.
