Lionel Messi continues to lead World Cup champions Argentina as they prepare to face Australia in an international friendly on Thursday, June 15.
The two countries last met in the Round of 16 in the FIFA World Cup back in December 2022. Argentina won 2-1 thanks to goals from Messi and Julian Alvarez.
The team managed by Lionel Scaloni looked almost unbeatable at times as Messi rose to the occasion in what is likely to have been his final World Cup. Since the event, Argentina played two celebration matches on home soil, beating Panama (2-0) and Curacao (7-0) in March 2023, with Messi scoring in both games.
The Sporting News looks at whether Messi will play against Australia in the international friendly scheduled for June 2023 in China.
MORE: LIVE BLOG: Follow all the action from Argentina vs. Australia friendly
Is Lionel Messi playing today vs Australia?
Messi is set to earn his 175th cap for the Albiceleste as he is fit to play against Australia. He played every minute in each of PSG's final four games of the season and will be expected to start against the Socceroos.
Alejandro Garnacho and Facundo Buonanotte will be looking to make their first senior international appearance, while Facundo Medina and Leonardo Balerdi are pushing for a spot in the starting lineup.
Man United's Lisandro Martinez is sidelined for Argentina with an injury, while the likes of Papu Gomez, Paulo Dybala, Lautaro Martinez, and Angel Correa were left out of the squad by Scaloni.
MORE: International friendly fixtures, schedule and results for June 2023 window
What time does Argentina vs Australia kick off?
The international friendly will be held on Thursday, June 15, at the Workers Stadium in Beijing, China.
The time of the match will be at 8 p.m. local time (8 a.m. ET, 10 p.m. AEST). Here is how that translates to time zones in different regions around the world.
| Date | Kickoff time | |
| USA | Thurs, June 15 | 8 a.m. ET |
| Canada | Thurs, June 15 | 8 a.m. ET |
| UK | Thurs, June 15 | 1 p.m. BST |
| Australia | Thurs, June 15 | 10 p.m. AEST |
| India | Thurs, June 15 | 5:30 p.m. IST |
| Hong Kong | Thurs, June 15 | 8 p.m. HKT |
| Malaysia | Thurs, June 15 | 8 p.m. MYT |
| Singapore | Thurs, June 15 | 8 p.m. SGT |
| New Zealand | Fri, June 16 | 12 a.m. NZST |
MORE: Everything to know about Lionel Messi: Trophies, net worth, and family
Argentina vs Australia live stream, TV channel
| TV channel | Streaming | |
|---|---|---|
| USA | — | Paramount+, ViX+ |
| UK | Viaplay Sports 1 | — |
| Australia | 10 | Paramount+, 10 Play |
| Canada | — | — |
| Hong Kong | — | — |
| India | — | — |
| Malaysia | Astro SuperSport 3 | Astro Go, sooka |
| New Zealand | — | — |
| Singapore | — | — |
USA: The match will be streamed in the USA on Paramount+ and CBS Sports Golazo on Pluto.tv. A Spanish-language stream will be available to ViX+ subscribers.
Australia: The game will be televised on 10 and can be streamed on Paramount+, 10 Play and 10 Bold.
UK: The international friendly will be shown on Viaplay Sports 1.
