Lionel Messi Update Ahead of Copa America Quarterfinal Against Ecuador, Will He Play The Knockout Game ?
On June 05, the defending champion Argentina will be clashing against Ecuador in the first quarterfinal of Copa America 2024 at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. Interestingly, Argentina has never lost to Ecuador at the Copa America.
However, Argentine footballer Lionel Messi couldn’t play Argentina’s final group stage match – a 2-0 win over Peru on June 29 because of the right leg injury he sustained during their 1-0 win over Chile.
Messi has returned for practice with his teammates in Miami, ahead of the quarterfinal between Argentina and Ecuador. But will he play against Ecuador?
Will Lionel Messi play the Argentina vs Ecuador Quaterfinal ?
In a news conference before the practice, Lionel Scaloni ( World Cup-winning coach ) said that Messi’s participation in the match is unclear,
“We will train in a couple hours, and then we will decide. One more day is always better, yesterday we had good sensations and today we will decide. Based on today’s answer [In training], we will decide if Messi plays,”
Scaloni wants to confirm it personally with Messi, if he is physically fit to play the match (after the last session of practice, before the match),
“I haven’t spoken with him about the situation, I will talk to him today given it’s match day -1. I thought it was fair that he took his time and train as much as possible. After talking, we will decide. I haven’t talked to him, so we don’t know if he will play.”
Since Messi’s participation is uncertain, Scaloni assured if Messi will not be playing in tomorrow’s match, they will find the best of team to face the rivals,
“It’s never been that way. It alters when Leo doesn’t play, it alters everyone, not just me.We will try for him to be there, and if not we will find the best for the team. He’s game by game, and the team will conform to the rival.”
Talking about Lautaro Martínez and Julián Álvarez, he assured,
“They’ve played together against this rival, and we will decide after today’s training. They’ve worked well, and it’s an option. But we will see how everyone is today, especially Leo, and we will see.”
Lionel Messi’s role and impact is irreplaceable. But on the other side Ecuador manager Félix Sánchez feels,
“We know the team we face is of maximum level, Messi is a differential player, the one that marks the most difference today. But Argentina’s game model doesn’t change much with or without him. They’ve been with Scaloni for a while and developed a signature playing style with and without Messi on the field.”
After the quarterfinal match, the winner will advance to the semifinal at Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on July 9.
Tabinda Mir is a writer from Kashmir. She is an English Honours graduate and her interests primarily dwell in poetry and sports writing. She likes to cover Cricket as an avid fan. Apart from sports, her other publications include articles, poems and a letter to summer in the book titled, “Under The Summer Skies”.
Also, her leisure time activities include reading novels, poetry, non literary works, philosophies and writing poetry, short stories, articles on diverse themes.
