Thousands of football fans in Beijing gathered to see Lionel Messi as Argentina arrived in China for a friendly match against Australia.The Argentine team, who won the World Cup, will play against the Socceroos on Thursday at the Worker’s Stadium in Beijing.
After the match, Messi is expected to move to the Inter Miami team in Major League Soccer, which will be his first time playing for a club outside of Europe.
In Beijing, many fans wearing jerseys similar to Messi’s waited in long lines for hours at the airport and the hotel just to catch a glimpse of him.
This friendly match is significant as it marks the return of international football to China after a three-year period of strict Covid-19 restrictions, which resulted in the cancellation of many sporting events.The game will be a rematch of the round of 16 match at the Qatar World Cup last year, where Argentina won 2-1.
