Lionel Messi is expected to start the Copa America semifinal matchup against Canada,

According to Argentina’s coach Lionel Scaloni.

9/7/2024,

Lionel Messi will play in Argentina’s Copa America semifinal against Canada on Tuesday night despite a leg ailment.

Messi has been dealing with a right leg problem ever since the team’s group-stage victory over Chile on June 25.

Leo played the entire game in last Thursday’s quarterfinal victory over Ecuador, even though he was not present for the first-round match four days later. At MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Monday, Albiceleste’s coach Lionel Scaloni said that his player will play tomorrow.

At 37, Messi is four goals short of the record held by Brazil’s Zizinho and Argentina’s Norberto Méndez with 13 Copa America goals, although he hasn’t scored in any of the competitions this year.

Scaloni declared, “It’s an easy decision for me.” “I ask him how he feels, and it’s a really honest decision. The final thirty minutes will be played if he responds, “I’m not good.” He will play when he is free.

In the opening match of the tournament on June 20, Argentina defeated Canada 2-0 with goals from Julián Álvarez and Lautaro Martínez, setting up Messi’s team to pursue a record 16th Copa America championship.

“With Messi, we weren’t quite good enough in the final game. Jesse Marsch, the American coach appointed to lead Canada in May, remarked, “He was able to run free at our custodian too much.” “He’s the best player to ever play the game, as we all know.”

Argentina outshot Canada 19–10, including 9–2 on target, while holding a 64% possession rate.

“Our ability to play against them was more of (an) advantage than their ability to play against us,” Marsch said.

In the quarterfinals, penalties have decided the match for both teams. Canada, a guest from North America, defeated Venezuela.

Wednesday night in Charlotte, North Carolina, Uruguay plays Colombia in the other semifinal. The final game takes place at Miami Gardens, Florida, on Sunday.

Although Argentina will have one extra day of rest than Canada, both sides will have just finished 90-minute games.

The only time extra time is allowed in a tournament match is when it’s needed for the championship game.

Argentina is trying to win its third major championship, having already won the 2022 World Cup and the 2021 Copa America.

 Spain, the 2010 World Cup champion and the 2008 and 2012 European Champions, is another team it aspires to follow in its footsteps.

With 15, the Albiceleste and Uruguay share the record for most Copa America victories.

With victories over Colombia in the Copa semifinals of 2021, the Netherlands in the 2022 World Cup quarterfinals, France in the championship game, and Ecuador this week, Argentina’s goalie Emiliano Martínez has won four straight shootouts.

Eighteen shots were stopped by six-foot-five Martinez, a chatty person who sought to distract opponents and was always pacing. These players featured Virgil van Dijk and Steven Berghuis of the Netherlands, Kingsley Coman of France, Ángel Mena and Alan Minda of Ecuador, and Davinson Sánchez, Yerry Mina, and Edwin Cardona of Colombia.

Canada’s only World Cup campaigns came to an end in the group stage in 1986 and 2022. After winning the 1985 CONCACAF Championship, its precursor competition, it went on to win the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Cyle Larin, who leads Canada in goals scored in his career with 29, declared, “We’re playing against the best team in the world.” “We are very powerful and fast, but I believe that in the days that we have spent together, we have grown.”

#LionelMessi, #CopaAmerica, #Argentina, #Football, #Soccer, #GOAT, #Barcelona, #LaPulga, #Legend, #Captain, #VamosLeo, #Futbol, #MessiMagic, #SelecciónArgentina, #GoalMachine, #CopaAmerica2021, #TeamMessi, #Champion, #Inspiration, #RecordHolder,