Argentina & Brazil Set To Battle At The MCG

The powerhouses of international soccer are set to return to Australia.

Argentina and Brazil will return to the MCG in June, five years after the two football giants packed it out for a friendly in 2017.

The match will take place on June 11 and will be an important clash for both sides in the lead-up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

The Victorian government made the announcement on Wednesday with another sell-out crowd expected following the 95,000 attendance for the previous clash.

"To have two of the most successful football teams in the world return to the MCG to continue their longstanding rivalry reinforces our position as one of the world's great sporting cities and Australia's event capital," Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Martin Pakula said.

"Football is known as the world game and a match of this calibre will put millions of eyes on Melbourne and attract thousands of visitors to Victoria."

The June clash should have no trouble beating the previous meeting between the two with a World Cup qualifier in Sao Paulo in September, sensationally abandoned just minutes into the game when home health authorities forced the game to be stopped due to Covid-19 concerns involving four visiting players.

It is expected both teams, who are safely qualified for Qatar, will bring superstars Lionel Messi and Neymar down under for the important clash.

The friendly being scheduled in the middle of the AFL season will also mean current clashes scheduled at the MCG for that weekend - Collingwood v Melbourne, Essendon v Carlton and Richmond v Port Adelaide - will have to either be rescheduled to other venues or played around the clash - Thursday night, Friday night and Sunday afternoon all appear to be the most logical options.

In 2017, a lone goal was enough to give Argentina victory over Brazil while 10 years earlier Messi helped the Albiceleste defeat the Socceroos 1-0 at the MCG.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup kicks off in Qatar on November 21 with the final on December 18.