Argentina coach confirms Lionel MESSI will be included in Copa America team

By
Roy Nemer
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60
Lionel Messi Argentina
Lionel Messi with the Argentina team.

Argentina coach Lionel SCALONI confirmed Lionel MESSI’s inclusion in the Copa America team.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, the Argentina coach commented on his squad while also confirming MESSI’s presence for the Copa America. Here’s what he had to say:

“In principle, having him these days was just maximum. He was involved very well and we saw him very involved. It’s obvious that he will be there and we will surely work to achieve a team.

“We know that we are in time’s of change. The logical thing would be that MESSI comes to a team that’s together. We have time to correct that and we will.”

Lionel SCALONI spoke about the team and the present:

“I am totally convinced that in the future, this will bear fruit. There are matches that you could lose but you have take positives from them. Logically, we don’t like to lose. But one match does not change our perspective of the future.

“I think the most important thing is to be able to find the contribution that each player brings to the pitch. I think it’s much more important than the system.”

SCALONI also stated that much of the Copa America list is completed.

“I think we have about 80% of the list for the Copa America. We have to work so that the players aren’t always attracted and looking to pass the ball to MESSI. There are three or four spots that we still have to see but the rest we have.”

Talking about Argentina’s opponents on Tuesday, here’s what he had to say:

“Morocco are a good team who showed some teeth at the World Cup. It’s a good test for us.”

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60 Comments

  1. Being a successful manager for this Argentina squad is so easy.
    We have the BEST attacking talent in the world yet we use Benedetto and Lautrau suarez hahahaha pathetic.
    We find it so hard to use both Messi and Dybala on the same pitch when all you need to do is add Dybala as a second striker alongside Aguero in a 4-4-2.
    It baffles me how we call up MLS youngsters instead of world class EPL, Serie A, La Liga players.
    Surely these would be our best line ups:
    ————————–Romero
    Bustos – Otamendi – Pazzella – Tagliafico
    ———–Battaglia – Lo Celso
    ——Messi—————-Di Maria
    ————Dybala – Aguero
    OR
    ————————-Romero
    Bustos – Otamendi – Pazzella – Tagliafico
    ——————Battaglia – Lo Celso
    ————Di Maria – Messi – Lamela
    ————————–Aguero

  2. If I was Scaloni I would play mix of seniors and juniors

    ————Benitez———–

    Saravia—-Otamendi—Pezella—Tagliafico

    ———Guido—-Banega——-

    Messi—–Lo Celso——Di Maria

    ———Aguero———-

    Lo Celso has to go back and defend the space behind Messi when we lose the ball. Di Maria defends with Tagliafico. 8 men drop to defend when you lose the ball.

    Have a substitute for each position. Back up team, plays only a few minutes per game or if someone is injured or disciplined

    ———–Rulli————
    Monitiel—-Foyth—Kan—Acuna
    ——Battaglia—Paredes—-
    Dybala—-Lanzini—Pereyra
    ———-Lautaro——-

    If you have to attack (fallen behind) then add more firepower. If we have to defend get to solid 4-4-2 or even 4-5-1 with proper subs. There are only 2 flavors of the game -> when you have the ball and when you don’t have the ball.

    • Messi and Dybala should be more close to the goal. They don’t/can’t defend. So 4-2-3-1 won’t produce best out of them. 4-3-3 or 4-4-2..!! Else they should be at the center in 4-2-3-1.

    • I just hate benitez hype which is quite similar to Armani last year called up prior to the basis of club season form in farmer league which turned disaster in world cup for Argentina, i see benitez is nothing different from that, suddenly eye attention one season disaster knocking on the door, if benitez was considered like even maschrin or Guzman then benitez selection or playing him as a starter acceptable based on current form but one good season on farmer league should not be the criteria for the selection let leave the starting 11

        • Benitez begins this season best but struggled in the end of the season, i don’t see him in copa unless Aandarda failed to impress in morocco friendly. Romero can’t be left out and Rulli played every call up under scaloni despite poor form this season but at the end of the season Rulii form is outstanding therefore Rulli will be selected for copa sure, 3rd position i thought Armani but after venezuela match his selection under threat now Aandarda have golden opportunity not only justify his selection for copa but also secure his place as no1

  3. I don’t know how many of you watch Bein Sports and talk shows like locker room. There was extended discussion about Argentina national team situation. Pundits like Christian Vieri (who has a liking for Argentines, remember he was a close friend of Crespo) feels there are no good players in the team or in the pipeline other than the front line. They talked about Pekerman and those youth building days.

    Our youth system is messed up. Raw talents are not getting nurtured to become top players. There was a time when people used to make fun of Brazil goalkeepers (I watch football since 82 WC). Now look at them, they produce top line GKs all the time. There has to be a program to encourage young players to take up that role. Looks at Argentina, no decent GK for close to 20 years.

    General feeling in the outside world is we cannot beat any team (read any team) now. Nothing is going to happen with Argentina is next 10 years. There is no fear of Argentina football team. Everyone who plays against us, sees it as an opportunity to win. Hence they are more pumped up rather than worried about playing a top team.

    • Argentina not only beat any top team with current squad but also can win the world cup if played in a system, Argentina has world class attack if defensively problem solved and produce a top GK then with messi i can see Argentina lifting the world cup in 1022, if Argentina win copa 2019 or failed you should neither over hyped it nor criticize it because to win copa there is just 1 or 2 tough matches in either semis or Final but in world cup even qualify from group stages are difficult these days because of the rise of African teams

  4. Guys I really appreciate your passion for Argentina team and it truly show that you all wants Albiceleste to succeed. I am Argentina follower simply because of Messi and my favorite team was Italy before Argentina. However I have to applaud for the knowledge you guys possess about local Argentina players. Having said that, Argentina needs better full backs and more balanced team to succeed. Just look at Holland who are better now because of better system and better European players. Having top full backs is must if Argentina wants to succeed. Any ways, I no longer see South American team winning world cup any more as gap between South American and European team is too big and it will only get bigger as European countries organize more competitive matches with high quality and top coaches where as SA countries are still stuck in corruptions and are fighting against each other. Even Portugal is better than Brazil now. That says it all.

  5. I remember Sampaoli always announced his team sheet in press conference. Will Scaloni follow and do the same during Copa too? Just a random thought.

    • Probably. It’s tradition since Tata to reveal lineup and formation so the opponents can adjust their tactics and defeat us. History will repeat.

      • @Bodhi86,
        It’s one thing to reveal line-up ahead of a friendly and completely different thing during a tournament. Since Scaloni never plays the same team twice just like Sampaoli did, I wonder what is in store during Copa 🤔

    • As far as I remember, Sampaoli revealed his lineup during WC as well. And we were scratching our head wondering what’s going on!?

  6. Romance Copa Squad:
    GK: Rulli, Romero, 3rd ONE
    DF: Montiel, Marcado, Otamendi, Pazella, Kanemaan, Foyth/romero, Tagliafico, Acuna
    MF: LO Celso, Paredes, batigala/ascaliber, Dimaria, Pareyra/Lanzini, Palacios
    FW: Messi, Dybala, Aguero, Icardi, Lautaro, Pavon/Corera

  7. Catalonia vs Venezuela:

    A team Comprised of low level players & Veterans have beaten Venezuela. They played amazing football & the most shocking fact is they play every 2 years or so with a manager who doesn’t even manage and no one has heard of the starting XI players in this team.

    Tells you what a shit this Argentina has become. i mean this team used to be competing with the very best i mean look at the players pre 2010. World class players now players like Benedetto who can’t even control a pass is considered the next big thing for this team.

    • That doesnt mean much since its not competitive game.

      Spain beat Argentina 6-1 in friendly and didnt progress further than Argentina at recent WC. I mean, they cant even beat Russia. Germany topped their qualifying group easily, didnt make it into roun 16… dominated by Mexico and became a laughing stock against S Korea. Nobody predict that.

      • Had Argentina been in a Group with Spain and Portugal, Iran and morroco. They would be eliminated too. Don’t forget the team that spanked Argentina lost their coach 1 day before the tournament start.

        You are comparing Germany a team won the 2014 world cup and has amazing line of talent and managers to Argentina?

        • Croatia beat Argentina 3-0 and Argentina put a better performance against France then any other team in that WC including Croatia.

          Spain couldnt beat Russia and Germany was beaten by S Korea and Mexico, and all their previous wins in qualifier means nothing when you cant even beat 15th or 20th ranked favorites.

  8. After messi generation we have stopped producing potential world class players in every position from goalkeeper to striker ,see it might hurt everyone of us but its true ,our board and local clubs must address this ,reasons may be many like lack of technical training or sticking to outdated thinking ,poor coach , mismanagement etc
    As for example where are our strikers like luka jovic ,Radford ..Wingers like sancho ,Hudson odoi ,vincious ,defenders like miltao ,de lit ,goalkeepers like donoromma ,fullbacks like kimmich we are lacking everywhere
    Just screaming about local players won’t solve anything

    • Icardi is the best striker in the world and Lautaro is huge potential, striker isn’t concern for Argentina biggest concern is GK which Argentina failed to produce from a long time and worldclass full backs. NO team in the world have world class attack like Argentina has but all of them played on same position Balance wise Argentina is bellow per

    • Martinez already scored couple of goals and hopefully could replace Aguero in years to come but Icardi is the only natural #9 Argentina has right now which is at world class level like Crespo and Batistuta.

      Icardi has been league top scorer twice at 24, already scored more than 100 goals for Inter since last season… yet he never play a single major tournament while players like Mbappe was given a chance at 19, same with Messi back in 2006.

      In last 10 years, Argentina has been relying heavily with same core of players, Messi/Aguero generation, the 2005-2007 youth teams… plus ultimate choker named Higuain.

        • @Gonzalo Icardi is better than any striker in the world at moment else Real Madrid will not buy him to replace cristiano, icardi achieve this with hard work, Age is on the side of lautaro let’s see he become bigger than Icardi or not from next season onwards lautaro will be the starter for Inter if he can do what icardi have done then lautaro can consider bigger than icardi but he has potential without any doubt as a Argentina fan we feel proud to have two young word class striker

        • I’ll wait till Martinez becoming league top scorer twice and scored 100+ goals like Icardi already does.

          In term of overall talent, Martinez is better but as pure forward? no. Icardi actually scored 4 goals this season in CL even though Inter out in group stage. Thanks to his clown wife, his career probably going to end up like Adriano.

    • You are right to an extent. But let me tell you my thought…!

      Lautaro soon will be worlds best striker.
      Dybala will be back to form if he quits to an attacking team.
      Lo Celso will become the best midfielder in the world soon.
      Ascacibar has the potential to become one of the worlds best DM.
      Palacios going to be a big player soon.
      Foyth has the potential to become one of the worlds best defender.
      Belardi too has the potential to become one of the best defenders in the world.

      I believe Caseres, Simeone, C.Romero, Pavon, Bustos, Pussetto, Montiel etc will be an asset for NT sooner or later.

      Nehuen Perez, Almendra, Pedro La Vega, Gaich…I have high hope for the younger players from defense to forward line. There are some positions we lack players especially at left back and goalkeeping. Some young goalkeepers giving us some hope.

      • While at it let’s just say insider will soon become a billionaire and Gonzalo will own Google soon.

        The pure delusion is sad, I mean do u guys read what you write?

  10. I hope it will be 4-3-3 and not 4-2-3-1.
    4-3-3 is the base of Scaloni’s system. Probably he will be using 433 system in Copa.
    ANDRADA
    MONTIEL-PEZZELLA-KANNEMANN-ACUNA
    PAREDES-Guido-DE PAUL
    DYBALA-Lautaro-PEREYRA

    Lanzini can come as a sub for Pereyra. They can help De Paul on the right side.

    • He is our best defender. Otamendi is an mistake waiting to happen & has zero to no leadership quality. I still remember this idiot starting the fight vs France when we desperately needed a goal with just 2 mins remaining and this bufoon wasted 1.5 mins fighting.

  13. Hi all, I am a newly registered member from Bangladesh. Following mundo since one year. The fact is that I liked scalonis’s comment. Friendly is for experiment and one can only learn firm experiment.
    Nothing to worry Insh-Allah.

    • Welcome bro, i joined on mundo to find a Argentina fan girl if you know anyone from Bangladesh then please inform me btw I’m from West Bengal

    • My friend, welcome to the forum first of all,
      Second, with all respect to your beliefs, I would suggest you changing your portfolio name as this is not a political/religious forum because you will be inviting -unintentionally- other subjects to be discussed here on mundo. WE abide by the FIFA slogan RESPECT and the rule that says sports , religion and politics don’t mix.

      We had few incidents of political/religious topics being discussed in a very bad uncivilized manner here, and this is not the place to do so. This is strictly sports forum for Argentina fans around the globe.
      Thank you for understanding

  14. > “I THINK THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO BE ABLE TO FIND THE CONTRIBUTION THAT EACH PLAYER BRINGS TO THE PITCH. I THINK IT’S MUCH MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE SYSTEM.”

    We’ve always had great players that contribute. Its our “system” that has failed us. Aside from Tata and Saballa, we’ve been on a run of terrible coaches from Maradona, Bauza, Sampa, and Scaloni. Even Scaloni says “system” isn’t his priority. At this point, even a blind person can see our team is void of a system.

    Btw, he just has impeccable timing with just 1 game and all pre copa.

    Plan A: Throw a bunch of players that “contribute” into Copa and prey they find a system.

    What a game plan. Guardiola move over. We have the mighty Scaloni

  15. Otamendi ,Pezzela,Foyh Romero, all are right footed central defender.Otamendi can play left,bt this is not the solution.we need at least one Left footed central defender

    • even alexander barboza of defensa and marcos senesi of san lorenzo are also left footed CBs’ their heights and ages are 1.93m(24) for barboza and 1.85 m(21) for senesi if not for copa then atleast post copa friendlies they can tried along with balerdi,nehuen perez,and mammana who can also play as rb

  16. Christian Romero is too good to get called up to the NT, I don’t know , but he had already become my favourite defender ( more because of his aggression and roughness) .he is the type of defender who will break players leg ,and I personally want this old type aggressive defenders .
    I think the Copa America defence should look like this
    Otamendi + pezella ( senior defence) .
    Foyth+ Romero ( substitute or young defence).
    Scaloni should consider this , this defence is just mouth watering , absolutely aggressive , rough , hard and the wall type .

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