The Argentine National Team, led by Lionel Scaloni, has arrived on African soil to face their last international friendly commitment. The team will play against the local Angolan team this Friday at

Argentina play just one fixture during November. Their final match of the calendar year comes against minnows Angola in a friendly on Friday, Nov. 14, with the fixture seeing them travel to the Estádio Nacional 11 de Novembro in the city of Belas. Kick-off time is 11 a.m. ET (8 a.m. PT).

Lionel Messi is still refusing to confirm his 2026 World Cup plans, with the all-time great leaving Argentina and the rest of a global audience guessing on whether he will form part of a global title defence from the reigning champions next summer.

The Argentine, who had given two decades of his life to the Catalan giant, always hinted that his story at Camp Nou was unfinished. And for a brief, electrifying moment in 2023, that fairytale seemed within reach again — until it wasn’t.

Real Madrid fullback Trent Alexander-Arnold was presented with the same choice as Messi: Ballon d’Or or World Cup. The England international is yet to claim either gong but came to a different answer: “Don’t play the game; change the game,” was Alexander-Arnold’s justification for blatant self-promotion.

Lionel Messi and the world champion Argentina soccer team are expected to be special guests this week as Angola celebrates the 50th anniversary of its independence from Portugal.