The Argentine Football Association (AFA) have distanced itself from rumours that world’s best and Barcelona talisman, Lionel Messi will not be available for the June 1 highly rated international friendly against the Super Eagles of Nigeria.

The FA denied releasing any team list for the June 1 international clash which had Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez, Di Maria, Gonzalo Higuain and Diego Milito excluded. Reacting to the purported team list, AFA representative, Hernan Tofoni said that his association is yet to make public the list of players for the match.




Hernan said that AFA accepted invitation to be part of the Guinness the Match based on the respect they have for Nigeria and the match is important to their build-up for the COPA America Cup. “Nigeria and Argentina are two great football nations with great people who have great passion for the games. We can’t afford to be complacent because we have beaten Nigeria three times in the past. The Eagles are a great team and they are playing at home. Argentina is number five in the world right now so we have to play with our best players. They will be supported by the massive crowd and we don’t want to let our fans down. This is an opportunity for us to continue our dominance over Nigeria.”

Organisers of the epic match have also reacted saying that both team lists would be made public 10 days to the match.

Meanwhile, Super Eagles Head Coach, Samson Siasia has said he would not be deceived by the fake Argentina team list that purportedly omitted the World Player of the Year, Lionel Messi and Carlos Tevez. He stressed that both countries can’t afford not to play their best players. “Messi and Tevez are not the most important players in Argentina so we are not complacent about their rumored absence. Argentina will never raise a substandard team against Nigeria because they too want to maintain their record of the unbeaten runs. We are focused and will give the match all it takes. Argentina is one of the world’s most successful football nations. Any team they field will be of world class quality because the depth of talent available to them is second to none. Whether they are the more well known international players or the phenomenal rising stars coming through, Argentina are amongst the best in the world.”




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