Argentina are the reigning World and Copa America champions and are warm, if not red hot favourites to make it three-straight tournament victories in the USA over the next three weeks.
He might turn 37 next Monday but the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi goes into the tournament in the USA seeking to win his third straight international tournament. Can anyone stop Messi and Argentina? Let’s see…
Lionel Messi will wear the No. 10 shirt for Argentina for the 10th time at a major tournament when he plays at the 2024 Copa América.
Iconic 🐐 pic.twitter.com/NBqRs1nXkw
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) June 19, 2024
How’s Messi been doing over there?
While his move five time zones to the west to play in the MLS in 2023 means fewer opportunities for European fans to watch the maestro in action, Messi has been in typically stellar form in his first full season in the US.
He has scored 14 goals and provided 11 assists in just 15 appearances so far this season for Inter Miami across the MLS and CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Messi missed Argentina’s March friendly games against El Salvador and Costa Rica due to a hamstring injury but returned off the bench in the 1-0 win over Ecuador on June 10 and then started, and ran the show, in the 4-1 win over Guatemala in their final warm-up match on Saturday, scoring twice and assisting another to make it 108 goals in 182 caps for his country.
It’s not just Messi, Argentina are packed with experience and Angel Di Maria netted against Costa Rica and Ecuador, taking the 36-year-old within four goals of a certain Diego Maradona on the list of all-time Argentina scorers.
Emi Martinez, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Enzo Fernandez, Alexis MacAllister, Julian Alvarez, Lautaro Martinez, Alejandro Garnacho… the names are familiar and they have a culture of success which began with that historic Copa America win against Brazil in 2021.
Di Maria scored the only goal in the Maracana that day to end a 28-year title drought…
Source link : https://www.101greatgoals.com/news/copa-america-can-messi-repeat-his-world-cup-heroics-and-lead-argentina-to-more-glory/
Author : Alex Hoad
Publish date : 2024-06-20 08:00:13
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