Argentina will play two friendlies before the tournament, against Ecuador on Sunday at Soldier Field in Chicago and Guatemala five days later. But coach Scaloni emphasized the need to ensure that Messi, the superstar who will turn 37 years old at the end of this month, remains healthy for the title defense campaign. The Argentina coach said in the pre-match press conference: “Everyone will see Messi tomorrow. He will definitely play for a while. We will carefully study the number of minutes each person will play. Messi, I imagine he will play, I don’t know if the whole match or for 30 minutes, 60 minutes or not. But everyone must understand what is most important, Messi needs to be properly protected.”

The Inter Miami superstar last played for Argentina as a substitute on October 12, 2023, when he came off the bench in a 1-0 win over Paraguay at the Estadio Monumental in Argentina. If there is no Messi in the squad, coach Scaloni can still choose to start with young stars Lautaro Martinez and Julian Alvarez leading the attack.

Coach Scaloni included 22/26 players from the 2022 World Cup winning squad in the preliminary squad of 29 players preparing for Copa America 2024. However, he affirmed that the dark starting lineup has not yet been determined. their best, and need to continue to evaluate further through friendly matches. “I still don’t have the best squad, especially because I have to evaluate the six changes we have to make,” said Scaloni, who also led Argentina to victory in the 2021 Copa America.

According to regulations, coach Scaloni will finalize the main 26 players participating in the tournament before June 15. Real Betis defender German Pezzella is not sure he can stay on the official list when he has physical problems. Argentina will open Group A Copa America 2024 against Canada on June 20 in Atlanta, then play Chile on June 25, and Peru on June 29.