Lionel Messi’s Fitness Uncertain Ahead of Copa America 2024 Quarter-Final

Before Thursday’s Copa America quarterfinal matchup against Ecuador, Lionel Messi’s fitness is still in question as coach Lionel Scaloni says he will wait to name his team. Messi missed Argentina’s 2-0 victory over Peru in their last group stage encounter on Saturday due to a strained right hamstring.

Scaloni stated he would make any decisions following Argentina’s training session later on Wednesday. “We’ll decide after a few hours of waiting. “Having an extra day is always preferable,” he stated at a press conference.

“Yesterday we had good feelings and we’ll take this day to define the team based on the response we get today,” he stated. Scaloni stated that he will speak with Messi, who is 37 years old, on his preparation for the match.

“If he’s not (ready), we’ll search for the best option for the squad and we’ll attempt to get him in. I will speak with him now. He remarked, “It seems reasonable that he takes his time and trains as much as he can. With qualifying to the knockout stage essentially certain, Scaloni rotated his team against Peru, making nine changes.

In the event that Messi is not prepared to start against Ecuador, Scaloni may choose to start Lautaro Martinez and Julian Alvarez as the two attacking forwards. With four goals from three games, including two against Peru, Lautaro leads all Copa scorers thus far. Alvarez scored the game’s first goal against Canada.

Also Read: Lionel Messi Leads Argentina to Historic Copa America Victory Over Brazil in 2021

“They’ve previously collaborated to play against this opponent. After today’s training session, we shall decide. Since they have been successful and it is a possibility, we are not ruling anything out “said Scaloni.

Lautaro is doing just as well as Julian at this favorable time. I’m thrilled that Lautaro not only performed admirably, but also bided his time until his opportunity came. I hope they both score goals tomorrow to keep up their recent success. Their contributions have met our expectations,” he stated.

With or without Messi, Ecuador’s coach Felix Sanchez stated he doesn’t think Argentina will drastically alter their strategy.

“We know we are playing a high level team, Lionel Messi is the player that makes the difference and we have played against them with him and without him on the field,” he stated.

“Their gameplan doesn’t change much – they are a group who have been with their head coach for a long time, they know their gameplan and we have had to be ready either way,” said the Spaniard.