THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Argentina football team, along with star player Lionel Messi, will most likely play a match against Australia in Kochi when the South American squad visits Kerala in November, official sources in the Sports department said.

No date has been fixed for the friendly match, but it will take place in Kochi on any day between November 12 and November 18 when the Argentina team and Messi are in Kerala, the sources said.

Australia will most likely be the opponent of the South American team, which won the 2022 World Cup, the sources said.

There were some controversies involving the Argentina team's visit to Kerala, with some reports in early August this year saying that the South American squad, with Messi, will not come to the state. However, later the same month, state Sports Minister V Abdurahiman had said that the team would arrive in Kerala in November.