Angola vs. Argentina LIVE: Lionel Messi wraps up 2025 Argentina schedule with friendly clash

Welcome to our live coverage of the match between Angola and Argentina in an international friendly. Stay tuned for key updates, highlights, and live, minute-by-minute action!

Lionel Messi’s Argentina touches down in Luanda for its final match of the year—a friendly brimming with celebration, yet charged with intrigue and expectation. Angola is set for a historic night, hosting the reigning kings of soccer as part of the country’s 50th-anniversary celebrations of independence.

The two teams have met only once before: a 2-0 Argentina victory in Salerno back in 2006. That encounter now feels like a lifetime ago, when Messi and Lionel Scaloni sat on the bench, just beginning their international journeys. This time around, this fixture carries a different significance.

La Albiceleste, the reigning world champions, have already secured their spot in the 2026 World Cup, topping CONMEBOL qualifying with 12 wins, two draws, and four losses—nine points clear of Ecuador. Their October window saw a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Venezuela, followed by a resounding 6-0 win against Puerto Rico, a showcase of Argentina’s depth and attacking firepower.

Angola, by contrast, arrives with unfinished business. A fourth-place finish in their World Cup qualifying group has pushed their hopes of returning to the global stage to 2030 at the earliest. Six draws proved costly, and their campaign closed with a goalless stalemate against Cameroon. Yet under Patrice Beaumelle, Angola has built a three-match unbeaten run and now turns its focus to a daunting AFCON group that includes Egypt, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.