The Argentine team will face Guatemala this Friday, starting at 9 p.m., at the FedExField stadium in Landover, Maryland, United States. This will be the last friendly match that the Albiceleste will have before the start of the Copa América 2024, so several players will be at risk of joining Lionel Scaloni’s final list or being left out of the continental tournament.
Unlike the match against Ecuador, where Lionel Messi was a substitute, in this match he will start. The Argentine captain started on the bench last Sunday and played just over 40 minutes, but thinking about the Copa América, both he and the coaching staff want him to arrive in optimal physical condition.
La Pulga will once again be a starter with the national team after almost eight months, since the last time he played from the start was in the victory against Brazil in the Qualifiers for the next World Cup. It should be remembered that Messi just missed the March tour, where Argentina faced El Salvador and Costa Rica, because at that time he was suffering from an injury to the hamstring in his right leg.
How do they get there
The Argentine team has just beaten Ecuador 1-0 last Sunday, also in the United States, with a goal from Ángel Di María and a great performance from Cristian Romero. Previously, in the March friendlies they beat El Salvador 3-0, thanks to goals from Cuti Romero, Enzo Fernández and Giovani Lo Celso, and 3-1 against Costa Rica with goals from Angelito Di María, Alexis Mac Allister and Lautaro Martinez.
For their part, the Guatemalans obtained two key victories thinking about the 2026 World Cup, as they defeated the Dominica team (6-0) and the US Virgin Islands team (3-0). In addition, they will play against Argentina in the first friendly of the June FIFA date, since on July 27 they will face El Salvador.
Probable formations
Argentina: Emiliano Martínez; Nahuel Molina, Lucas Martínez Quarta, Nicolás Otamendi, Nicolás Tagliafico or Marcos Acuña; Exequiel Palacios, Enzo Fernández, Alexis Mac Allister; Lionel Messi, Lautaro Martínez or Julián Álvarez, Ángel Di María. DT: Lionel Scaloni.
Guatemala: Nicholas Hagen; Aarón Herrera, José Pinto, Nicolás Samayoa, José Ardón; Jonathan Franco, Oscar Castellanos, Alejandro Galindo; Oscar Santis, Rubio Rubin and Nathaniel Méndez. DT: Luis Fernando Tena.
The history between the Argentine National Team and Guatemala says that the albiceleste faced Guatemala on two occasions, and on both occasions they were victorious. The first was in 2013, when Argentina beat those from Central America 4-0 with three goals from Messi and the remaining one from Augusto Fernández. The second match came in 2018, and the Argentines won 3-0, with the achievements of Gonzalo Martínez, Giovani Lo Celso and Giovanni Simeone.
Argentina in the Copa América
After the friendlies against Ecuador and Guatemala, Lionel Scaloni’s team will make its debut in the Copa América.
Date 1: Argentina vs. Canada, June 20 at 9 p.m. at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta.
Date 2: Argentina vs. Chile, June 25 at 10 p.m. at MetLife Stadium, New Jersey.
Date 3: Argentina vs. Peru, on June 29 at 9 p.m. at the Hard Rock Stadium, Miami.
Chile without Medel and Vidal on Gareca’s list
The coach of the Chilean team, Ricardo Gareca, delivered this Thursday the list of 26 players who will participate in the Copa América, with the absence of two strongholds of the “Roja” in recent years, such as defender Gary Medel and midfielder Arturo Vidal.
Both had already been left out of the squad with which Chile faced Paraguay on Tuesday in Santiago, in a friendly preparation match in which the locals won 3-0.
The Argentine Gareca had previously indicated that all the players are at his disposal for the next matches in Chile, which would not rule out Medel, Boca’s recent incorporation, or Vidal, from the local Colo Colo, for future qualifying matches.
Both are recognized for being part of the “golden generation” of Chilean football, which won two consecutive Copa América, in 2015 and 2016.
After the injury of full-back Felipe Loyola against Paraguay and his subsequent withdrawal from the team, Gareca included at the last minute also full-back Nicolás Fernández, from Audax Italiano, and Colo-Colo midfielder Esteban Pavez. Center back Benjamín Kusevic, from Fortaleza in Brazil, had joined the team this week.
In the tournament that will be held in the United States from June 20 to July 14, Chile will face Argentina, Canada and Peru in Group A, a team with which it will debut on the 21st of this month.
Chile’s payroll is as follows:
Archers: Claudio Bravo (Real Betis, Spain), Gabriel Arias (Racing, Argentina) and Brayan Cortés (Colo-Colo).
Defenders: Matías Catalán (Talleres, Argentina), Mauricio Isla (Independiente, Argentina), Gabriel Suazo (Toulouse, France), Guillermo Maripán (AS Monaco, France), Paulo Díaz (River Plate, Argentina), Igor Lichnovsky (Club América, Mexico) , Benjamín Kuscevic (Fortaleza, Brazil), Thomas Galdames (Godoy Cruz, Argentina) and Nicolás Fernández (Audax Italiano).
Midfielders: Erick Pulgar (Flamengo, Brazil), Marcelino Núñez (Norwich City, England), Rodrigo Echeverría (Huracán, Argentina), César Pérez (Unión La Calera), Diego Valdés (Club América, Mexico), Esteban Pavez (Colo-Colo).
Fronts: Ben Brereton Díaz (Villareal CF, Spain), Alexis Sánchez (Inter Milan, Italy), Darío Osorio (FC Midtjylland, Denmark), Eduardo Vargas (Atlético Mineiro, Brazil), Víctor Dávila (CSKA Moscow, Russia), Marcos Bolados ( Colo-Colo), Maximiliano Guerrero (University of Chile) and Cristián Zavala (Colo-Colo).
