all of Argentina is trembling for Lionel Messi!

While the biggest European nations have already been crossing swords for several weeks now in a Euro 2024 that smells of gunpowder, the national selections of the two Americas have followed suit and are fighting in this new, different but highly anticipated edition of this Copa América 2024 in the United States. After a snatched victory against Canada (2-0), Lionel Messi’s Argentina fought hard to secure their qualification against Chile (0-1): “It was a deserved victory. It wasn’t easy and it was won at the least expected moment. The team continued to believe and attack. Argentina, every time the match becomes difficult, they don’t give up. We have this guarantee, because we have to believe in our football and continue playing. The team has incorporated this. We want the team to stay motivated, it’s fundamental”, declared Lionel Scaloni. But like France at the Euro, everything is not perfect despite qualifying for the quarters acquired.

More after this ad

Favorite of the Copa América as title holder and world champion, Argentina has always wanted to set the bar high to send a message to the competition and thus establish its total domination in South America, at a time when the Brazilian rival is going through inglorious times. Lautaro Martínez, scorer of the winning goal against Chile, explained the difficulties in his team’s game by the very defensive system of the opponents: “Everyone plays us tight down there, they sometimes put a line of five and it gets a little complicated”. Alexis Mac Allister also clarified that Argentina is struggling to be efficient and realistic at the start of the competition despite the two victories in two matches: “It was a complicated match to play, one-on-one all over the field. It was a very tough match and we came away with the victory, which is the most important thing”But beyond the collective analysis, Argentina trembled last night and is very worried about the physical condition of Lionel Messi, who was bothered by several problems during the match.

To read
Argentina: Emiliano Martinez’s new provocations to Chilean supporters

Zero goals and physical discomfort for Messi

While he has still not found the net in this Copa América, Lionel Messi also seems very physically affected. This was widely seen last night against Chile. The number 10 had to deal with real physical discomfort for much of the first half and after another rough intervention with Gabriel Suazo, the Pulga raised the alarm and called the doctors. The Toulouse defender was indeed at fault for a heavy tackle against Messi, already affected, who was immediately treated: “Lionel finished the match with difficulty alongside Fideo (Di Maria, editor’s note) and Lautaro but it was okay. I think so it will be fine but I haven’t spoken to him yet. We’ll see in the coming days.”, explained Scaloni at a press conference. A media release not necessarily reassuring. The Argentine staff did not seem to want to remove Lionel Messi, who therefore remained on the pitch. We will nevertheless see if against Peru, the last day of group A, the native of Rosario will be left to rest given the ticket for the quarters in the pocket. Beyond the aspect of disappointing stats (0 goals, 1 assist), Lionel Messi is nevertheless still the main key to all Argentina’s meetings, the central axis of Scaloni’s team.

More after this ad

After receiving treatment for Suazo’s foul, the FC Barcelona legend showed new signs of pain a few minutes later and began to stretch to ease his physical suffering. The only good news in this situation, for the peace of mind of Scaloni and the entire Albiceleste, is that Messi continued to play the match without any further problems, and even managed to get a very clear opportunity at the end of the game with a left-footed shot that hit the post of the goal defended by Claudio Bravo: “It bothers me a little, but I was able to finish the match. I hope it’s nothing serious. It was at the start of the first match. I didn’t feel any pinching but it became hard. It was difficult for me to move freely because of the discomfort. I’ll see how we continue. I have been coming here for a few days with a sore throat, fever, maybe it took its toll on me today too”, explained Pulga. Like all great players, Lionel Messi is aging and can therefore suffer from certain physical after-effects due to the very aggressive, rough and intense game in South America. So keep an eye on it in the coming weeks.