Lionel Messi heads to SEC country: Argentina playing at Auburn, Texas A&M

Lionel Messi is going to get the full Southeastern Conference experience.

The Argentina national team will play its final two World Cup tune-ups at SEC football stadiums in the week leading up to the World Cup: June 6 against Honduras at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas and June 9 against Iceland at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama.

Argentina's World Cup base camp will be in Kansas City, where the defending champions play Algeria in their opener on June 19 at Arrowhead Stadium. The Argentines' second and third group stage matches are in Dallas.

"To have the reigning FIFA World Cup champions choose Auburn as the site of their last match before defending their title represents a tremendous achievement and an incredible opportunity for Auburn Athletics and Auburn University," Auburn athletic director John Cohen said in a statement. "This match will bring worldwide attention and exposure to Auburn and our community."

The match at Auburn will be the first international soccer game in the famed college football stadium's history, while Texas A&M's Kyle Field hosted a Mexico-Brazil game in June 2024 with an announced crowd of 85,249.

"This is a very exciting time for soccer across the world as well as in the state of Texas," Texas A&M athletic director Trev Alberts said in a statement. "It will be a great opportunity to welcome fans from all over to our campus and one of the most elite venues in college sports. We are always looking to advance the brand of Texas A&M to grow its established global reach and impact."

With these two friendlies now officially scheduled, Argentina's final seven matches before the World Cup will have been against teams that failed to qualify for the tournament.

Will SEC fans call into Paul Finebaum's show about the cupcake schedule?

Argentina schedule

• June 6 vs. Honduras at Kyle Field (Texas A&M) – friendly
• June 9 vs. Iceland at Jordan-Hare Stadium (Auburn) – friendly
• June 19 vs. Algeria at Arrowhead Stadium – World Cup group stage
• June 22 vs. Austria at AT&T Stadium – group stage
• June 27 vs Jordan at AT&T Stadium – group stage

Buy World Cup tickets for every city

• Atlanta
• Boston
• Dallas
• Houston
• Kansas City
• Miami
• Los Angeles
• Philadelphia
• New York
• San Francisco
• Seattle

Mexico

• Guadalajara
• Mexico City
• Monterrey

Canada

• Toronto
• Vancouver

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