Singapore captain Shahril Ishak declared that playing Argentina will be "like a dream come true" while vice-captain Hariss Harun says he couldn't believe that he'd be facing Lionel Messi on home soil.
The June 13 friendly at the Singapore National Stadium was officially launched on Friday as a provisional 27-strong squad was announced.
The Argentina game comes after a closed-door friendly against Myanmar on June 6 and a crucial AFC Asian Cup qualifier against Chinese Taipei on June 10, both at Jalan Besar Stadium.
"Of course, we're really excited for this and it's like a dream come true," said 33-year-old Shahril, who has 134 international caps. "I'm sure coach Sundram will put out the best team to compete and we as players want to enjoy this moment."
Hariss, who has played 73 times for the Lions, added: "When I first heard of this fixture, I could not believe it. This should be our biggest international fixture, so we have to make use of this moment to play with players of such high calibre."
There were no major surprises in V. Sundramoorthy's latest selection, apart from Garena Young Lions' duo Hami Syahin and Muhaimin Suhaimi who were handed their first-ever call ups.
The likes of Hassan Sunny, Hariss Harun, Safuwan Baharudin and Khairul Amri can look forward to test their wits against a strong Argentina side now guided by former Sevilla manager Jorge Sampaoli.
They have called up star players like skipper Messi, Javier Mascherano, Angel Di Maria and Gonzalo Higuain as they face Brazil in a friendly in Melbourne on June 9 before arriving in the Lion City.
The match is organised to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS).
"It's an excellent opportunity for our national players to go out there and enjoy themselves," Sundramoorthy told ESPN FC. "Argentina are currently ranked second in the world, so what better opportunity for them to gain exposure?"
"We're a small country, so we are limited in terms of players' selection. We have 28 players [including injured Juma'at Jantan] training with us and will eventually trim to 23 when we move into the hotel.
"The mood's excellent after a good result [a 0-0 draw] away against Bahrain, so we're mentally prepared to face a team like Argentina. Playing with these top guys, we're motivated to compete so we're not thinking about the [possible] scoreline... we're going to keep our heads up and fight till the final whistle."
Hariss called on the fans to come out in numbers at the 55,000-capacity National Stadium, as Singapore look to follow in Thailand's footsteps in learning from tough matches against European and South American teams.
"The perfect example is Thailand -- they got better after playing a lot of quality opponents. If we can play more against such opponents, it can only be good for our national team. I hope to see a full National Stadium too because we've not experienced before," Hariss said.
Singapore squad
Goalkeepers: Hassan Sunny (Home United), Izwan Mahbud (Tampines Rovers), Syazwan Buhari (Geylang International), Zaiful Nizam (Balestier Khalsa)
Defenders: Shakir Hamzah, Mustafic Fahrudin, Daniel Bennett, Madhu Mohana (Tampines Rovers), Irfan Fandi (Home United), Ho Wai Loon (Warriors FC), Nazrul Nazari (Hougang United), Faritz Hameed (Geylang International)
Midfielders: Safirul Sulaiman, Gabriel Quak, (Geylang International), Hariss Harun, Faris Ramli, Izzdin Shafiq (Home United), Hami Syahin (Garena Young Lions), Zulfahmi Arifin (Hougang United), Safuwan Baharudin (PDRM FA), Yasir Hanapi, Shahdan Sulaiman (Tampines Rovers), Hafiz Sujad (unattached)
Forwards: Shahril Ishak (Warriors FC), Khairul Amri (Tampines Rovers), Khairul Nizam (Home United), Muhaimin Suhaimi (Garena Young Lions)