COPA AMÉRICA
Will Lionel Messi play for Argentina against Peru in the Copa América?
Argentina continue their preparation against Peru with a big question mark over Messi’s fitness.
The Argentina national team have returned to Miami, the starting point where a few weeks ago they began their preparation for the Copa América. So far, it has been a successful campaign: after the victory over Chile last Tuesday, they reached the quarter-finals and will go into the last group stage match with peace of mind.
Peru will be the opponent for Lionel Scaloni’s squad, and he intends to rotate his team and field players who have had few minutes in the tournament, with the aim of getting the single point needed to secure top spot in the group.
Will Messi play for Argentina against Peru?
However, this is where the big question mark for Argentina comes in: even though the team has already qualified from Group A and will have a few days to prepare for the quarter-final, the fitness of captain and star player, Lionel Messi, is not ideal. The forward needs time to fully recover from the muscular problem that has plagued him for months at Inter Miami.
According to reports from TyC Sports, Thursday will be the decisive day for Lionel Messi at Argentina’s training camp in Miami, as the captain will undergo tests to determine the extent of his injury and to rule out a more serious issue that could compromise his participation in the tournament.
With the intention of Lionel Messi’s return aimed for the quarter-final against either Ecuador or possibly Mexico, staff will take the best possible care of its captain, although it will be the tests that have the final say in the matter.
La Albiceleste will close out their group stage in Copa América with a completely new team, using a combination of experienced players such as Emiliano Martínez, Nicolás Otamendi, Leandro Paredes and Ángel Di María with new faces, who, together with Lautaro Martínez, will be responsible for the attack in the absence of the Miami star.
Among them are the debuts of two new faces in the Copa América, Valentin Carboni and Alejandro Garnacho, who are no doubt anxious to get their first chance to shine in a major tournament with the team; they will surely see minutes against the their opponents as Scaloni wraps Messi in cotton wool.