World champions Argentina will face Australia in an international friendly match at the Workers' Stadium on Thursday. The South American giants have not lost or drawn a game since their group-stage defeat against Saudi Arabia at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
This will be their third friendly outing since the World Cup final and in their last game, a Lionel Messi hat-trick helped Argentina thrash Curacao 7-0. This fixture will also be Messi's first outing since his move to the MLS club Inter Miami was confirmed.
The game will be a rematch of the Round-of-16 at the 2022 World Cup, where Messi and Julian Alvarez scored to help Argentina overcome Australia. Like their opponents, Australia have also managed to play two friendlies since then, but their most recent outing was a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Ecuador.
Here GOAL brings you everything you need to know about how to watch, including TV channel, streaming details and more.
Argentina vs Australia kick-off time
| Date: | June 15, 2023 |
| Kick-off time: | 8 am EDT |
| Venue: | Workers' Stadium, China |
The international friendly between Argentina and Australia will be played at the Workers' Stadium in China on Thursday, June 15. Kick-off is at 8 am EDT for fans in the US.
How to watch Argentina vs Australia online - TV channels & live streams
 | CBS Golazo Network | Watch here |
The game will be shown live on CBS Golazo Network in the US.
Team news & squads
Argentina team news
While it has been reported that Lionel Messi will not feature in Argentina's friendly against Indonesia, the former Barcelona star is set to be part of the starting lineup against Australia.
Argentina do not have Lisandro Martinez in the squad due to injury, and several players including Juan Foyth, Papu Gomez, Angel Correa, Paulo Dybala, and Lautaro Martinez have been excluded from Lionel Scaloni's 27-man squad. A total of 19 players from the World Cup squad have been retained.
Two uncapped teenagers, Alejandro Garnacho from Manchester United and Brighton's Facundo Buonanotte will be vying for their first senior international appearances.
Although Julian Alvarez has been included in Scaloni's squad, it is unlikely that he will play on Thursday as he participated in Manchester City's open-top bus parade to celebrate their treble success on Monday.
Argentina predicted XI: Martinez; Montiel, Otamendi, Romero, Acuna; De Paul, Fernandez, Mac Allister; Messi, Simeone, Garnacho.
| Position | Players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers: | Emiliano Martínez, Gerónimo Rulli, Walter Benítez |
| Defenders: | Nicolás Otamendi, Marcos Acuña, Nicolás Tagliafico, Germán Pezzella, Nahuel Molina, Gonzalo Montiel, Cristian Romero, Leonardo Balerdi, Facundo Medina |
| Midfielders: | Rodrigo De Paul, Leandro Paredes, Giovani Lo Celso, Guido Rodríguez, Exequiel Palacios, Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernández, Lucas Ocampos, Thiago Almada, Facundo Buonanotte |
| Forwards: | Lionel Messi, Ángel Di María, Nicolás González, Julián Álvarez, Giovanni Simeone, Alejandro Garnacho |
Australia team news
Australia coach Graham Arnold has selected a young 23-man squad for this international window, aiming to evaluate emerging players for the AFC Asian Cup next year.
Unfortunately, the Socceroos will be without several experienced players due to injuries. Aaron Mooy, Craig Goodwin, Jason Cummings, Aziz Behich, Milos Degenek, Jackson Irvine, and Bailey Wright, who were all part of the matchday squad that faced Argentina in the World Cup, are unavailable.
Australia predicted XI: Ryan; Atkinson, Souttar, Rowles, King; McGree, Metcalfe, Hrustic; Leckie, Maclaren, Borrello.
| Position | Players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers: | Mathew Ryan, Joe Gauci, Tom Glover |
| Defenders: | Harry Souttar, Kye Rowles, Nathaniel Atkinson, Joel King, Gianni Stensness, Ryan Strain, Jordan Bos, Alessandro Circati |
| Midfielders: | Ajdin Hrustic, Riley McGree, Connor Metcalfe, Keanu Baccus, Denis Genreau, Cameron Devlin, Aiden O'Neill, Alexander Robertson |
| Forwards: | Mathew Leckie, Jamie Maclaren, Mitchell Duke, Brandon Borrello |
Head-to-Head Record
Argentina have played Australia on a total of three occasions in the past and Messi's team has been the victors in all three outings. Their most recent face-off was in the Round-of-16 at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
| Date | Match | Competition |
|---|---|---|
| December 2022 | Argentina 2-1 Australia | World Cup |
| September 2007 | Australia 0-1 Argentina | Friendly |
| July 2005 | Australia 2-4 Argentina | Confederations Cup |