On the morning of June 10, the Argentine team kicked off its campaign to defend the Copa America championship with a 1-0 victory over Ecuador. Famous player Messi sat on the bench and came on the field in the second half to warm up for about 30 minutes.
Coach Scaloni left Messi on the bench because he wanted the 36-year-old player to play a moderate number of minutes in the two friendly matches before the Copa America to achieve his best form and physical strength. However, the Argentina team’s starting lineup still includes top stars.
Messi played his first match for Argentina after nearly 6 months of absence
In goal are number 1 goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, center back pair Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martinez; The midfield includes De Paul, Leandro Paredes and Giovani Lo Celso, while striker Lautaro Martinez leads the attack alongside Julian Alvarez and veteran star Angel Di Maria.
The Argentinian team soon controlled the match against Ecuador, who played very well recently. At the end of the first half, in a beautiful attack arrangement, Lautaro Martinez assisted Di Maria to score a cross-angled shot to open the score 1-0 for the home team.
In the second half, coach Scaloni replaced many players on the field to review the squad, including Messi replacing Di Maria from the 56th minute, or Enzo Fernandez replacing Lautaro Martinez, Nicolas Gonzalez replacing Leandro Paredes, Angel Correa replacing Julian Alvarez…
Although the Argentinian team’s lineup was chaotic, it still maintained an overwhelming position against Ecuador. In particular, Messi did not play too prominently due to the preparation process before the Copa America.
According to AS newspaper (Spain): “This is just 30 minutes of warming up for Messi. Furthermore, this is also the first match after nearly 6 months that this famous player has returned to play for the team. Immediate goals is to defend the Copa America championship.”
The Argentine team has favorable preparations before Copa America
AFA
After the victory over Ecuador, the Argentine team also met opponent Guatemala at 7:00 a.m. on June 15 in Landover City, Maryland (USA) to review the squad one last time. Coach Scaloni then also completed the list of 26 players officially participating in the Copa America.
The Argentine team will play the opening match (Group A) and the opening match of the Copa America against the Canadian team at 7:00 a.m. on June 21 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. Next is the match against Chile at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey at 8:00 a.m. on June 26 and the match against Peru at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida at 7:00 a.m. on June 30.