A Look At The Argentina National Football Team For Copa America 2024

Lionel Messi will lead Argentina national football team in the Copa America 2024 as the team announced its provisional squad for the tournament, ahead of their friendlies. Argentina, which enters Copa America as the defending champion, will play against Ecuador and Guatemala on June 9 and 14, respectively, as part of their preparations for the Copa America tournament. CONMEBOL, the organizing body of the tournament, has expanded the squad size from 23 to 26 this month. In the last edition of the tournament, Messi secured his first international trophy with the La Albiceleste by defeating arch-rival Brazil 1-0 in the final. Despite being 36 years old now, the goalscorer in that game, Angel Di Maria, has also been included in the Argentina Copa America 2024 squad.

Messi leads Argentina national football team for Copa America 2024, Dybala out

The Argentina squad for Copa America 2024 features three league winners, Julian Alvarez, Lautaro Martinez and Exequiel Palacios, who won the top division in three different countries: England (Manchester City), Italy (Inter Milan) and Germany (Bayer Leverkusen), respectively. There's absolutely no doubt that Lionel Messi will finish the 2024 season as one of the best football players in the world. Lionel Messi and the Argentina national football team finally tasted World Cup glory at the FIFA World Cup 2022. With 106 goals in football internationals, Lionel Messi is at the top of the Football player ranking and the second-most prolific active goal scorer after Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Argentinian magician is the second highest goal scorer and one of the best football players in the UEFA Champions League history. The legendary Argentinian footballer's unparalleled dribbling and goalscoring abilities were crucial in FC Barcelona's 4 Champions League titles between 2006 and 2015. Lionel Messi, who led Argentina to the FIFA World Cup in 2022, struggled with a hamstring until last month, but he hinted that he would look to continue 'delivering' for his country at the continental tournament.

"As long as I feel good and I can continue to deliver, I'm going to (continue playing with Argentina). All I'm thinking about today is getting to the Copa América and being able to play in it. Then, time will tell whether I'll be at the World Cup or not. I'm going to be at an age (39) that normally doesn't allow me to play in the World Cup," Lionel Messi said in the documentary' Champions, A Year Later'.

In the last edition of the tournament, Messi secured his first international trophy with the La Albiceleste by defeating arch-rival Brazil 1-0 in the final. Despite being 36 years old now, the goalscorer in that game, Angel Di Maria, has also been included in the Argentina Copa America 2024 squad. Argentina has been placed in Group A with Peru, Chile and Canada and will start their title defence against Les Rouges (Canada) at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Georgia on June 20. Talking about Football news, Paulo Dybala, who played an important role in Argentina's victorious FIFA World Cup campaign in 2022, will not be part of the upcoming friendlies or the Copa America.

Argentina squad for Copa America 2024

Goalkeepers: Franco Armani, Geronimo Rulli, Emiliano Martinez

Defenders: Gonzalo Montiel, Nahuel Molina, Leonardo Balerdi, Cristian Romero, German Pezzella, Lucas Martinez, Nicolas Otamendi, Lisandro Martinez, Marcos Acuna, Nicolas Tagliafico, Valentin Barco

Midfielders: Guido Rodriguez, Leandro Paredes, Alexis Mac Allister, Rodrigo De Paul, Exequiel Palacios, Enzo Fernandez, Giovani Lo Celso

Forwards: Angel Di Maria, Valentin Carboni, Lionel Messi, Angel Correa, Alejandro Garnacho, Nicolas Gonzalez, Lautaro Martinez, Julian Alvarez

Argentina and Messi will play two warm-up matches in the USA ahead of Copa America 2024

The defending champions and 2022 FIFA World Cup winners are the favourites to retain their crown this summer. La Albiceleste announced a 29-man preliminary squad on May 20, meaning three players will left out by early June. Defending champion Argentina will prepare for the Copa America 2024 by playing warm-up matches against Ecuador and Guatemala in the United States next month. Lionel Messi and his Argentina teammates are scheduled to play against Ecuador at Soldier Field in Chicago on June 9. The reigning World Cup champions will face Guatemala five days later at Commanders Field in Washington DC. Argentina will play their Copa America 2024 opener on June 20 against Canada in Atlanta. Argentina's coach Lionel Scaloni must submit his final 26-man roster for the tournament by June 12. He is inclined to choose the nation's best football players who secured the country's third World Cup title in Qatar in 2022.

Copa America 2024 - Complete Schedule (Indian Standard Timings)

Competitive international football is set to kick off with 16 countries competing for the Copa America trophy in June. The continental tournament is set to begin on June 20 and will be played in the United States of America. Lionel Messi's Argentina is entering the tournament as the defending champions. The Copa is the oldest active international football tournament, having started in 1916, with Uruguay winning the first edition of the tournament. Argentina and Uruguay are the most successful teams in the history of Copa America, each with 15 titles. The Brazil national football team, another South American giant and the most successful team in the FIFA World Cup with five titles, is second with nine Copa America titles. The 2024 edition of the Copa America will commence on June 20 (local time), and the final will be held at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida. This stadium is home to Messi's club in Major League Soccer, Inter Miami. Here's a look at the complete schedule of Copa America 2024, including kick-off times in Indian time.