Wales is eager to face the World Cup champions, Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, provided that the joint UK and Ireland bid to host Euro 2028 is successful.
In the event that the UK and Ireland outbid Turkey to host the tournament, matches would be held at the iconic Welsh rugby venue.
Should Aaron Ramsey and his fellow teammates secure qualification, Wales would relocate from Cardiff City Stadium to the Welsh rugby arena.
Noel Mooney, the head of Welsh football, has expressed that Argentina is the top-choice opponent for testing this venue change.
Mooney, the Chief Executive of the Football Association of Wales (FAW), has confirmed that discussions with Argentina are currently underway.
“We spoke to them in the last few days about playing in Cardiff,” said Mooney.
“I met the Argentinian ambassador when he was in Cardiff talking to the Welsh Government.
“I used the opportunity to talk to him about the opportunity for Wales to go down to play in Argentina.
“He was excited by the idea, although he obviously doesn’t decide who plays who.”
The Principality Stadium is one of the ten selected venues in the UK and Ireland that have been designated to host Euro 2028 matches.
A decision between this bid and Turkey’s will be made by UEFA, with the announcement scheduled for Tuesday, October 10th. Noel Mooney believes that familiarizing themselves with the venue would be advantageous for Wales.
“You’d have to assume we’d need to play some matches there before the competition to get spectators and players used to it,” said Mooney.
“We haven’t thought that much about it, but what I can say is that we know who we’d like to play if we had to – World Cup winners Argentina.”
There have been discussions about the potential of facing Argentina in South America, and the strong Welsh connections in Patagonia make it a prospective location for such a match.
The national teams of Wales and Argentina have crossed paths just twice in the past. Their most recent encounter was a friendly match in 2002, hosted at Principality Stadium, during which Craig Bellamy netted a goal in a 1-1 draw against the South American side.
