Practice makes perfect: Argentina players training at the Kennesaw University State Stadium in Atlanta. — Reuters
ATLANTA: World champions Argentina get an expanded Copa America under way today with Lionel Messi looking to add a second continental title in what is almost certainly his final appearance in the tournament.
The 108-year-old competition is being held in the United States with the host nation among six teams from the Concacaf region joining the 10 South American nations looking for a place in the July 14 final in Miami.
While FIFA will be looking closely at the organisation of the event, two years out from the World Cup which will be co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico, the tournament’s rich history and prestige means it is much, much more than a “trial event”.
Argentina have won the Copa 15 times but only once, in 2021, during the Messi era and coach Lionel Scaloni has stuck largely with his World Cup-winning squad, with veterans Angel Di Maria and Nicolas Otamendi likely taking their final bow in a major tournament.
Whether this is Messi’s goodbye to elite international football remains to be seen – the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, now playing in Major League Soccer with Inter Miami, will turn 37 four days after today’s opener in Atlanta against Canada and has yet to decide whether he will try to play in a record sixth World Cup.
“It’s great to have records and continue to achieve things but I won’t take part in a World Cup just to say I’ve done six,” Messi told ESPN last week.
“If I feel good and everything is in place for me to be there, fine, but I won’t go just to go.
“It’s very difficult to imagine what can happen because it’s still two years away. I don’t need to commit right now to whether or not I’ll be there,” he added.
What is certain is that Messi, who has managed his workload to try to be in peak condition for the tournament, would relish the chance to win a third straight major tournament with his country after so many years of frustration with his national team.
After facing Canada, Argentina take on Chile in New Jersey before finishing their Group A action against Peru in Miami but they know that tough opposition awaits in the knockout stage with rivals Brazil and Uruguay the two expected challengers for the title. — AFP
