Revealed: Why Nigeria will no longer face Lionel Messi’s Argentina in a pre-World Cup friendly

Nigeria’s highly-anticipated friendly match against Argentina in the United States next month will no longer go ahead, Pulse Sports can confirm. 

Pulse Sports earlier reported about the friendly match between the two big football nations, but the clash has now been cancelled. 

Argentina initially announced the friendly clash against the three-time African champions earlier this month, with the match set for China. 

However, the clash was put in doubt after China pulled out of hosting duties following Messi’s decision not to play in Inter Miami’s pre-season friendly match against Hong Kong XI. 

It looked like the match would not go ahead until Argentina found a venue in the United States to host the clash. 

But the match has now been cancelled after Nigeria cited ‘logistical problems’. It remains to be seen what the ‘logistical’ problems are, but it appears that some of the Super Eagles players might have found it difficult to travel that far for the friendly clash. 

As a result, Argentina have now found a new replacement to step in for the three-time African champions on March 26. 

According to Fernando Palomo of ESPN, the current world champions will now play Costa Rica on the same date in the United States. 

This decision means Nigeria will now have to find a new opponent for the March international window. 

The Super Eagles recently finished second at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, where they lost to Ivory Coast in the final.