Rodrigo De Paul spoke in a press conference on Monday prior to Argentina’s semi final match on Tuesday.

De Paul, who scored Argentina’s opening goal in the quarter final match, was the player selected to speak to the pres. An integral part of Lionel Scaloni’s team, here is what De Paul had to say:

“It’s always important to give your maximum for this shirt. When you give that, there is a good chance that things will work out well. We are here to grow, to help. We are all on here on the same path. It was nice to have scored the first goal but it was more important to win.”

Regarding Lionel Messi:

“Leo (Messi) is one step ahead of all of us. In the first goal against Ecuador, he saw me alone and luckily it helped us to win.”

About the Copa America and the Argentina national team:

“Our objective is to take this match by match. It’s a long road with great national teams. We are available to fight until the last day to get to the final that we have dreamed of and to give joy to all the Argentine’s.

“We talk a lot with the entire coaching staff. It’s a road that has been going on for more than two years. They know what I can bring and that they can count on me for any position. We have to be up for it and for all of us to be on the same side.

“We are motivated and we know tomorrow’s match will be difficult. We feel ready and very excited.”

Colombia will be Argentina’s opponent on Tuesday in one of the semifinals of the Copa America. After beating Uruguay on penalties, Colombia are looking to reach its third-ever final in the competition, having previously made it to the final in 1975 and 2001.

Per reports coming out of Colombia, this is the starting eleven that coach Reinaldo Rueda would play vs. Argentina:

David Ospina; Daniel Muñoz, Yerry Mina, Davinson Sánchez, William Tesillo; Juan Guillermo Cuadrado, Wilmar Barrios, Gustavo Cuéllar, Luis Díaz; Luis Muriel or Rafael Santos Borré, Duván Zapata.

Colombia had finished 3rd in group B, with 4 points. They started the Copa America 2021 with a 1-0 win vs. Ecuador. On matchday 2, they drew 0-0 vs. Venezuela and they ended up losing their last two games of the group stage: 1-2 vs. Peru, and 1-2 vs. Brazil.

Last Saturday, they played Uruguay in the quarterfinals. After a very close game, it finished goal less and after 90 minutes, the “Cafeteros” defeated the “Charruas” 4-2 in the penalty shoot-out.

Argentina and Colombia have played against each other many times during the last couple of years. Here are the scores from the last six matches between both national teams:

June 8th , 2021 – World Cup Qualifiers
Colombia 2-2 Argentina

June 15th , 2019 – Copa America (group stage)
Argentina 0-2 Colombia

September 11th , 2018 – Friendly:
Colombia 0-0 Argentina

November 15th , 2016 – World Cup Qualifiers
Argentina 3-0 Colombia

November 17th , 2015 – World Cup Qualifiers
Colombia 0-1 Argentina

June 26th , 2015 – Copa America (quarterfinals)
Argentina (5)0-0(4) Colombia

Argentina’s star and captain Lionel Messi will have a tough goalkeeper on the opposite side. Colombia’s experienced goalkeeper David Ospina has had good performances in this Copa America but so has Messi.

Between the South American Qualifiers and the Copa America, “La Pulga” scored two goals in seven games against Ospina. The first one was on November 15th of 2011, in a 2-1 victory vs. Colombia at the Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, for the Brazil 2014 World Cup Qualifiers. The second occurred on the same day and month of 2016, in a 3-0 win at the Estadio Bicentenario San Juan, in the 2018 World Cup Qualifiers for Russia.

The latter was a tremendous free-kick goal:

Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni reportedly has a few doubts regarding his eleven for the Copa America semi final.

Scaloni was unable to count on Cristian Romero for the quarter final match against Ecuador and it remains to be seen if Romero will be fit for the semi finals. Per reports in the Argentine media, once more, should Romero not be fit to play, it would be German Pezzella alongside Nicolas Otamendi.

In midfield, Leandro Paredes started ahead of Guido Rodriguez vs. Ecuador. It’s not secret that Scaloni relies on Paredes as the player has regularly featured in the starting eleven for the coach since taking over as manager.

However, Guido was impressive when he came on as a substitute in the last match and has been a starter at this Copa America. Per reports, Scaloni will have to pick one of the two to play in that defensive midfielder role.

Up front, Nicolas Gonzalez started the quarter final match but finished very tired. Angel Di Maria, who has had a great Copa America, came on as a substitute and helped win the free kick which Lionel Messi ended up scoring. That is another position on the team that remains unclear. Here is the rumored starting eleven for the semi final match:

Emi Martinez; Acuna, Romero/Pezzella, Otamendi, Molina; De Paul, Guido/Paredes, Lo Celso; Messi, Lautaro, Gonzalez/Di Maria

Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni spoke to the press following the team’s 3-0 win vs. Ecuador in the quarter finals of the Copa America.

Lionel Scaloni lived the game, as he usually does, in a very passionate and intense way. That’s how he was as a player and that’s how he is as a coach. We saw him constantly giving directions to his players, and also complaining repeatedly to the referee.

This is what the Argentina coach had to say in the post-game press conference:

“All the players gave their best until the last minute of the match and that, as a coach, fills me with pride. We are at a decisive stage, and we will try to move forward with work and humility.”

Regarding the substitutions:

“With the substitutions, we took the initiative again and refreshed the team a bit. Ecuador is a good team and that must be considered.”

He also commented on how tough the Copa America is:

“Anyone who believes that all games can be won easily is wrong. The matches are tough, they are played to the limit.”

“It is a very difficult Copa America; there is a good level. To reach the semifinals you must play to win all the games. We have gone step by step. In the end, one always wins, but we made it clear that the process is important.”

In addition, Scaloni praised Lionel Messi’s fantastic game:

“Leo’s game… I honestly don’t know if he’s ever going to get tired of being praised every day. The best thing that can happen for us football lovers is that he plays until he can, so we can continue enjoying him.

“Messi is enjoyed even by opponents when they play against him. We are talking about the best player of all time.”

Thinking on Tuesday’s semifinals game against Colombia, this is what Scaloni stated:

“We faced Colombia recently; they are a very difficult opponent, with top players. We hope to play with the same intensity, with the same enthusiasm.”