Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero are two of the global superstars who are expected to showcase their skills at the National Stadium on June 13 after Singapore’s glamour friendly against Argentina was confirmed.
The match, which had been first mooted in January, was announced on Wednesday afternoon as part of a four-nation tour that will kick off four days earlier, with the Argentineans playing Brazil in Melbourne.
The likes of Messi and Aguero are no strangers to Brazilian rivals like Neymar and Thiago Silva from matches in South America.
But four days later, Singapore fans will get the chance to see Argentina’s famous footballers lock horns with local favourites Hariss Harun, Hassan Sunny and Safuwan Baharudin.
The match will come three days after the Lions play an important 2019 AFC Asian Cup third round qualifier against Chinese Taipei at the same venue.
And although qualifying for the Asian Cup in United Arab Emirates is more important than a friendly match, Singapore coach V. Sundramoorthy declared that it would be a memorable occasion for his squad.
“Argentina are one of the top international teams, and have in their squad many world-class players such as Barcelona forward Lionel Messi, Paris Saint-Germain winger Angel Di Maria, and Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero,” Sundramoorthy said.
“FAS [Football Association of Singapore] has worked very hard to finalise the match, which will benefit our players and coaches in terms of invaluable exposure as well as enhance the level of sporting entertainment for fans in Singapore.
“I am looking forward to leading my country out against the two-time World Cup champions, and we hope that Singaporeans will come out in force to cheer us on.
“A packed stadium on June 13 will make a huge difference and give our players the boost they need against a team with so many talented world-class players.”
The match will be used to mark the 125th anniversary of FAS.
Apart from Messi, Aguero and Di Maria, Argentina are likely to bring many other big names from European football.
These include Juventus hotshots Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain, Manchester United duo Marcos Rojo and Sergio Romero, plus former Napoli and PSG star Ezequiel Lavezzi, who now plays for Hebei China Fortune in the Chinese Super League.
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