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World Cup Champion Argentina to Play Australia in China

Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Auxerre v Paris St Germain - Stade de l'Abbe-Deschamps, Auxerre, France - May 21, 2023 Paris St Germain's Lionel Messi during the match REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Auxerre v Paris St Germain - Stade de l'Abbe-Deschamps, Auxerre, France - May 21, 2023 Paris St Germain's Lionel Messi during the match REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
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World Cup Champion Argentina to Play Australia in China

Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Auxerre v Paris St Germain - Stade de l'Abbe-Deschamps, Auxerre, France - May 21, 2023 Paris St Germain's Lionel Messi during the match REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Auxerre v Paris St Germain - Stade de l'Abbe-Deschamps, Auxerre, France - May 21, 2023 Paris St Germain's Lionel Messi during the match REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq

Argentina captain Lionel Messi will lead his side against Australia at the Workers’ Stadium in Beijing and take on Indonesia during a two-game exhibition tour to Asia next month.

Argentina will play the Socceroos on June 15 in the Chinese capital. It’ll be the first meeting between the teams since Messi and his Argentina lineup beat Australia 2-1 in the Round of 16 en route to winning the World Cup title last December in Qatar.

Argentina's football federation said the national squad would play Indonesia in Jakarta on June 19.

“Football is truly the global game and for Australia to be invited to play this match in China, and against the world No. 1, we hope this will open further opportunities for our two nations to work together both on and off the football field,” Football Australia chief executive James Johnson said in a statement Monday.

Argentina's game in Indonesia is scheduled for a week after the under-20 World Cup final in La Plata.

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South Korea Expresses Regret after Its Athletes Introduced as North Korea at Opening Ceremony

Athletes of South Korea travel by boat along the Seine river during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP)
Athletes of South Korea travel by boat along the Seine river during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP)
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South Korea Expresses Regret after Its Athletes Introduced as North Korea at Opening Ceremony

Athletes of South Korea travel by boat along the Seine river during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP)
Athletes of South Korea travel by boat along the Seine river during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP)

South Korea expressed regret that its delegation of athletes at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony on Friday was introduced as from rival North Korea and has demanded assurances from organizers the mistake will not happen again.

As the boat carrying South Korean athletes passed on the Seine, the announcer introduced them as the "Democratic People's Republic of Korea" - the official name of North Korea - in French and English.

The announcer used the same introduction when the North Korean delegation passed.

South Korea's vice minister for sports and culture, Jang Mi-ran, who was in Paris, had requested a meeting with International Olympics Committee President Thomas Bach, the ministry said in a statement.

"We express regret that the country was introduced as North Korea at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games when the athletes of the Republic of Korea were entering," it said.

South Korea's National Olympic Committee immediately referred the incident to the Games' organizers and requested that the error will not be repeated.

South Korea's delegation includes 143 athletes competing in 21 events. North Korea, which is returning to the Games for the first time since Rio 2016, has sent 16 athletes.