Scotland versus Messi in Africa could be on the cards

SCOTLAND could be in line to play a glamour friendly against Lionel Messi and Argentina next year... in Morocco. Caretaker boss Malky Mackay confirmed last week that advanced talks were ongoing with the Moroccan FA about a game against the hosts in March. But Morocco want to organise a series of games as part of their bid to host the 2026 World Cup and aim to use the March friendlies to showcase their facilities. They are close to reaching an agreement to play Scotland and Argentina in their brand new Stade Adrar in Agadir and have explored the possibility of expanding it into a mini-tournament between the three nations. And Fouzi Lekjaa, president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, is convinced he can make it happen. He said: ‘It is 100 per cent that we will play Argentina. They have already confirmed Lionel Messi will be there. ‘There will be other matches organised too and we want to prove we have the facilities to host big games.’ An SFA delegation led by Mackay and chief executive Stewart Regan visited Agadir in September, where meetings were held with the SFA, Moroccan FA and Thomas Reilly, the British Ambassador to Morocco. And Mackay this week insisted he wants Scotland to face other nations outside of Europe. He said: ‘We don’t have endless cash to fly to South America to play Uruguay, which I would love to do. ‘But we can be innovative and possibly have Uruguay flown to Morocco.’ It might not be Uruguay, but a match up with Messi in what would be Scotland’s first-ever game in African soil would be sure to be an exciting friendly. The last time Scotland faced Argentina, it finished in a 1-0 win for the South Americans in Diego Maradona’s first match in charge of what turned out to be a short-lived reign. But Messi (left) was missing for the Hampden friendly in 2008, with Barcelona refusing to release their superstar for the game.