If the Copa América United States 2024 counts among its assets first Lionel Messi and then 16 teams, the 82,000 spectators who filled the MetLife stadium in New Jersey and the Conmebol leaders in their comfortable boxes held their breath when Argentina’s number 10 He began to touch the adductor of his right leg midway through the first half. The match between the current world and American champions against Chile, their executioner in the continental finals of 2015 and 2016, went to second order despite the 1-0 victory of the Albiceleste: Messi outside the playing field, getting cold and massages on the injured area by Argentine doctors, was an image that could have put the Cup in check.
Affected from the first play of the night, when he tried to accelerate and felt discomfort, number 10 – who turned 37 this Monday – lasted the entire game on the field but seemed to play in third gear, below his physical capabilities. Upon his return after that momentary exit in the first half, Messi hit the stick of Cristian Bravo, his former Barcelona teammate, with his left foot, but in the second half he showed less explosion than usual and even avoided taking some corners and free kicks. In the next few hours there will be more news about Messi’s physical evolution, news that matters more to the organizers than any result.
In the midst of this self-regulation, and after letting Ángel Di María take a couple of corners from the right of the Argentine attack, Messi decided to kick a corner kick 43 minutes into the second half, as if he smelled blood to unblock a 0 -0 which seemed fixed. The first attempt ended almost in an Olympic goal, but Bravo avoided it just enough. Then, the second corner of the 10 ended, after a series of rebounds, with the definition of Lautaro Martínez for the final 1-0, a victory so fair that the match ended with 23 shots on goal for the Albiceleste against 3 for their rival . The victory, Argentina’s second in a row after the opening 2-0 against Canada, gave Lionel Scaloni’s team qualification for the quarterfinals.
If Argentina (6 points) will play this Saturday in Miami without Messi? against Peru (1) simply to confirm the first place in group A, a Chile (1) that was competitive all night, despite its technical inferiority, will have that same day its last chance to advance to the definition zone of the Cup. For that, Ricardo Gareca’s team will have to beat Canada (3), which in the first round this Tuesday beat a weak Peru 1-0.
Beyond Messi’s physical condition and Lautaro Martínez’s goal, Argentina and Chile played on a somewhat undulating and sandy pitch, confirming what is already a constant in this Copa América: impressive stadiums for their architecture but poorly prepared for the practice of football due to their grass in poor condition or their dimensions being too narrow, bordering on the regulations. FIFA will have to take into account for the 2026 World Cup what Conmebol, fascinated by the American market, overlooked.
Guided by Gareca, the Argentine coach who qualified Peru for a World Cup – Russia 2018 – for the first time in 36 years, Chile had a good start to the game, in which for several minutes they deactivated the unbearable Argentine pressure in the midfield. During the entire first half he was not able to reach Emiliano’s goal. Draw Martínez, the goalkeeper who retired at halftime without having stopped any Chilean attack, but to show himself as a team that recovered the competitiveness lost in recent years. Added to Bravo’s eternal security was a great night from Paulo Díaz, River’s central defender.
Still far from their best collective version, and with the intermittent contribution of Messi, Argentina imposed its conditions for much of the night and generated several plays to reach the goal, which took longer than fair. To the left foot of the number 10 on the post in the first half, the world champion team added – already in the complement – another shot by Nicolás González on the crossbar and a shot by Nahuel Molina very well contained by Bravo. But if Chile seemed overwhelmed for several moments, Gareca had a plan and as the minutes passed, his team also found its scoring situations.
Between 26 and 30 minutes of the complement, Dibu Martínez avoided what could have been 1-0 for Chile with two sensational saves, against Rodrigo Echeverría and Marcos Bolados. It was the moment when the game was about to change course, but Messi chose to stay on the field until the end and in the 43rd minute he took the corner that would end in the Inter Italy forward’s goal.
The date was not pleasant for Argentina. On June 25, 1994, that is, 30 years ago, also in the United States, Diego Maradona played against Nigeria in his last match for the Argentine national team: a few days later his positive doping test would be known. Nor was the last Argentina-Chile in the United States a positive memory for the Albiceleste. Eight years ago, after losing the 2016 Copa América final against La Roja in the same stadium as the match this Tuesday, Messi announced his farewell to the Argentine national team, a decision that he would later review and end in the best way, with the title. of America in 2021 and of the world in 2022.
Messi does not need revenge but, even on a night in which he suffered an injury that will have to be closely monitored, he also finished victorious. The Copa América in the United States is not as interested in Argentina, or any other team, as the albiceleste 10.
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