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🎥 ¡Qué golazo, capitán! 🔟⚽pic.twitter.com/C1quqc1NTR
— 🇦🇷 Selección Argentina ⭐⭐⭐ (@Argentina) June 15, 2024
This week, Argentina national team sponsor YPF released a pre-Copa America video featuring Messi, in which he sends an emotional message to the country. Wearing Argentina’s kit and the captain’s armband, Messi taps the badge above his heart and wills his compatriots to join him and his team-mates in their quest to retain the trophy.
“Let’s do this together again,” Messi says before a dramatic cut to black.
There is a sense that this Copa America could be Messi’s last tournament. That possibility means the end of a marvelous era in football is close to its end. It could inspire the Argentina team to make history again.
At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Messi’s team-mates, who idolize him like billions of people, used his past failures at the international level as a motivating factor to win the tournament. That desire to play for Messi at all costs will make a formidable team even stronger this summer.
“The secret to this group of players is our humility,” said Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez last week. “We know what we’ve won and how important it is. We’re still hungry to win more, but the important thing is to stay grounded. That’s what is characteristic about this group.”
Argentina were sloppy at the start against Guatemala but the win served as a necessary momentum builder. After a 2-0 defeat to Uruguay in a November World Cup qualifier in Buenos Aires, Argentina’s confidence was rattled. They have since won five consecutive matches, including a win over arch-rivals Brazil in Rio de Janeiro.
They remain possession-dominant under Lionel Scaloni, with Messi playing much closer to goal as a second striker. The projected midfield three for the start of the Copa America of Alexis Mac Alister (Liverpool), Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid) and Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea) have developed a chemistry that allows Messi to roam freely in the final third.
Despite their star-studded 26-man squad, their collective personality under Scaloni is built around the basics of modern football: dictate the tempo and generate numerical superiority throughout the pitch.
“In every game, we try to be a difficult team to beat, a competitive and hardened team,” said Argentina and Nottingham Forest full-back Gonzalo Montiel. “We try to play within our philosophy and always play forward.”
It is all preparation for a tricky tournament opener on Thursday in Atlanta against Canada, now coached by American Jesse Marsch, who are making their bow in the Copa.
“Canada is a good team,” Scaloni said. “I’d say that they’re one of our most important opponents. They’ve just played in a World Cup and have top-level players.”
Argentina’s training camp in Miami was unorthodox because the players had the freedom to see family and friends, and enjoy the Florida sun and the city’s nightlife. They will now be secluded from those perks as Argentina seek to win their fourth consecutive international trophy under Scaloni.
Opening round matches against Canada, Chile and Peru along the East Coast will set the stage for what could be another milestone for Messi — and a farewell as Argentina’s captain.
(Top photo: Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
Source link : https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5566752/2024/06/15/lionel-messi-argentina-copa-america-favorites/
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Publish date : 2024-06-15 12:11:58
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