What Happened when Lionel Messi last played in India? Who were the Argentina Players and Who Won the Match? All you Need to Know

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The entire nation is breathing in bated anticipation as Kerala is set to host two Argentina matches in 2025.

The sports minister of Kerala came up with the blockbuster piece of news as Lionel Messi and co. are set to visit India and play two competitive matches next year.

Kochi is likely to be the hosts of the two matches but the opponents and the dates are yet to be confirmed. A higher-level team of representatives flew to Argentina recently as sports minister V. Abdurahiman led the team to meet with the Argentina Football Association (AFA) officials.

"We had excellent discussions on hosting an exhibition match in the state. As a follow-up, an AFA delegation will visit the state within two months," the minister was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.

Lionel Messi set to visit India after 14 Years

As Kerala hopes to live the Lionel Messi magic, this will be the second visit of the Argentina legend to India. Kerala will become the second place in the nation to witness the mesmerizing footballer, as he previously played in Kolkata in 2011. And a trip to Kerala will mean Messi's return to India after 14 long years.

What Happened in Lionel Messi's previous India visit?

Lionel Messi visited Kolkata in the year of 2011 along with the entire Argentina team. Los Albicelestes played an international friendly match against Venezuela at the iconic Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Kriranagan at the City of Joy.

Who won the Argentina vs Venezuela Match in India?

The friendly match was attended by a roaring Kolkata crowd of over 70,000 thousand spectators. The match was played on September 2 in Kolkata and Argentina managed a 1-0 victory. Nicolas Otamendi scored the solitary goal in the 67th minute of the match.

Who were the Argentina players in the Match?

The star-studded Argentina team had some of the greats of yesteryears. Lionel Messi was the central figure of the galaxy of stars, but players like Javier Mascherano, Angel Di Maria, Gonzalo Higuain also played the match. Sergio Aguero came on as a substitute as well. Alejandro Sabella was the coach back then for the Argentina team.

Argentina Playing XI vs Venezuela in India (along with Substitutes)

Sergio Romero; Javier Mascherano, Martin Demichelis, Pablo Zabaleta (Federico Fernandez), Nicolas Otamendi; Marcos Rojo, Lucho Gonzalez (Jose Sosa); Angel Di Maria, Ricardo Alvarez (Javier Pastore), Lionel Messi; Gonzalo Higuain (Sergio Aguero)