Preview of the Angola-Argentina match
Argentina’s final lucrative friendly takes place tomorrow in Angola with Lionel Messi and his teammates lining up in Luanda.
The hosts have reportedly paid around $6 million to the Argentine Football Federation to participate in an event that will form a central part of Angola’s festivities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its independence from Portugal.
But with a third of the country’s 38 million people living in poverty, according to the World Bank, the match caused widespread discord, with civil rights groups calling on Argentina to boycott the match.
Four groups wrote an open letter to the Argentine Football Federation, the national team and the Lionel Messi Foundation, saying that withdrawing from the match “would be a noble gesture of international solidarity and respect for human rights.”
He adds: “As public resources are devoted to large-scale sporting events, thousands of children and adults face chronic hunger, severe anemia and widespread food insecurity. »
Argentina have played a string of friendlies since winning the World Cup in Qatar three years ago, including in China, Indonesia and the United States.
The level of opposition has been largely weak, with countries like Curaçao, Panama and El Salvador being swept aside.
Angola are 89th in the world rankings and are unlikely to upset a team that managed to qualify for the World Cup after dominating the Conmebol section.
For Messi, it is a first return to Africa in the colors of the national team since the 2010 World Cup, when Argentina, led by Diego Maradona, was beaten 4-0 by Germany in the quarter-finals.
He returned with Barcelona for a friendly match with Mamelodi Sundowns in 2018.
It’s been a busy week for the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner. He began by helping Inter Miami reach the MLS Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time, scoring his 41st and 42nd goals of the season in a 4–0 victory over Nashville.
He then traveled to the under-construction Camp Nou in Barcelona – making headlines along the way – en route to Alicante to reunite with his international teammates for a training camp.
