Messi can face Ronaldo in the new tournament

The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) is about to announce a new friendly tournament called Copa Interfederaciones, according to Goal page on September 18. The tournament brings together top teams from South America and Europe, including Argentina, Brazil, Portugal, England, Germany, the Netherlands and France.

If summoned to participate, Messi can face Ronaldo in the Argentina - Portugal match. Argentina is also likely to meet England at Wembley Stadium, where they beat Italy 3-0 in the 2022 Intercontinental Super Cup match. Messi and Ronaldo once met in the friendly match Argentina - Portugal in 2011. Representative of Nam The US won 2-1 thanks to goals from Messi and Di Maria, while Ronaldo scored for Portugal.

According to Goal, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) has not yet decided on participation in the Copa Interfederaciones. However, the sides are actively working to announce the match schedule on November 9. In 2024, Argentina will attend Copa America in the US from June 20 to July 14. The South American defending champion also plays 6 qualifying matches for the 2026 World Cup, taking place in September, October and November.

At the end of 2023, Argentina has four qualifying matches remaining against Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Brazil. Messi and his teammates are ranked second after two rounds, with six points, equal to Brazil but with a lower difference. The South American qualifiers include 10 teams competing in a double round-robin. The top six teams will enter the 2026 World Cup directly, while the seventh-placed team must play a play-off with representatives from other continents.

At the 2022 World Cup, Argentina only lost its opening match against Saudi Arabia with a score of 1-2. After that, they won all six matches to take the title: Mexico 2-0, Poland 2-0, Australia 2-1, Netherlands 4-3 in penalty shootout (2-2 draw in 120 minutes), Croatia 3- 0 and France 4-2 in the shootout (3-3 draw in 120 minutes).