Confused Between Taiwan and China, Lionel Messi Found Himself in a Passport Mishap Before Thwarting ‘Revenge’ From Rivals

After concluding the domestic season, it’s time for the international break. Players around the world are gathering with their national teammates to play the emphatic fixtures. Simultaneously, Lionel Messi also catches up with his fellow countrymen. Argentina, along with their skipper, recently flew to Asia to play an international friendly.

The friendly match was against Australia in Beijing, China. However, while entering the country, the player got himself into trouble as he was stopped by the airport’s officials for a passport mishap.

Lionel Messi gets into airport trouble!

On Sunday, Messi arrived at the Beijing Capital Airport accompanied by friends and security personnel, using a private jet. However, they encountered an issue during passport control when officials noticed that Messi was attempting to enter the country using his Spanish passport instead of his Argentinian passport.

At the time, Messi did not have his Argentinian passport with him, despite currently representing his home country in international matches. The incident somehow was caught on camera, showing Messi being surrounded by airport police while holding his passport and discussing the matter with them. Mistakingly thinking he could travel to China without a visa, he questioned, “Is Taiwan not China?”

Before entering China, Spanish citizens may be required to obtain a visa. However, if they are traveling to Taiwan for a trip lasting less than 90 days, they typically do not need to apply for the same. Despite this, Messi experienced a two-hour delay at the airport. Nevertheless, he was eventually allowed to proceed and was granted an expedited visa.

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And when he entered the country, he had already started doing his magic on the pitch. The skipper managed to thwart Australia’s plans to take revenge.

Australia could not take revenge against Argentina

Before the friendly match, Australia’s head coach, Graham Arnold, made a strong claim. The Socceroos’ coach said the match isn’t just a normal friendly. Rather it is an opportunity for them to take revenge on Messi and co. La Albiceleste managed to clinch a narrow 2-1 win against Aussies in the round of 16 of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

When asked about another meeting with them, Arnold said, “Revenge. I think, you know, there’s no such thing as a friendly, in my view. Every time you put on that national team shirt, it’s about winning.” Unfortunately, his words backfired on him, as he failed to lead his side to victory. Thanks to a 120-second strike from Lionel Messi and a second-half goal from German Pezzella, Argentina won 2-0.

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