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Why Are Lionel Messi & Argentina Playing vs Angola? The $13M Offer You Can't Resist

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Emmanuel Mendez | Last updated Nov 14, 2025 9:38 AM ET

After qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, the Argentina national team has started preparing for the tournament with friendly matches. They already played against Venezuela and Puerto Rico last month, but today they will play against Angola.

Unlike the previous two friendly matches, the matches will not be played in the United States and instead will be played in Angola at the Estadio 11 de Novembro.

Lionel Messi and other Argentine stars will take part in the friendly match against Angola today. Many fans ask themselves why Argentina will travel to Africa for a friendly match in Angola.

Argentine's forward Lionel Messi (C) and teammates attend a training session of the Argentinian team ahead of their friendly football match against Angola, in Algorfa, near Alicante, eastern Spain, on November 11, 2025. (Photo by JOSE JORDAN / AFP) (Photo by JOSE JORDAN/AFP via Getty Images)

The friendly match against Angola is to celebrate Angola's 50th anniversary of independence, which was on November 11th, 1975.

The match is reportedly set to earn Argentina $13 million, making the Angola vs Argentina friendly match one of the most expensive international friendlies of all time. The match organizers predict that the match can make $10 million in tourism revenue.

How much were the Angola vs Argentina tickets?

According to reports in Angola, tickets for Angola vs Argentina were reportedly worth between 5,000 to 50,000 kwanzas. That price range was set to be around $6 to $60.

The match was sold out very quickly when the friendly match was announced a few months back. This is the last friendly for Argentina in 2025 as they continue to prepare for the 2026 World Cup.

This is the first time Argentina will play in Africa since 2019, when they played in Morocco against Morocco. The match ended in a 1-0 win for Argentina.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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