Lionel Messi is not at his best. Nevertheless, the exceptional player is expected to help world champions Argentina reach the final of the Copa América against Canada.
Argentina's football superstar Lionel Messi is not letting a leg injury stop him. The 37-year-old is expected to play in the Copa América semi-final against Canada on Wednesday night (2.00 am CEST) despite recurring complaints, said coach Lionel Scaloni ahead of the match at MetLife Stadium in the US state of New Jersey. "Leo is fine. He will play," Scaloni emphasized.
He will also speak to Messi again shortly before the match and get his honest opinion. "If he says 'I'm not well', then he'll play the last 30 minutes. If he's available, he'll play," said Scaloni. Messi has scored 13 Copa America goals in his career, but has yet to score in this year's edition.
Disappointment after missing a penalty
Argentina had already won 2-0 against Canada in the group stage at the start of the finals, with Messi setting up both goals. "We didn't play well enough against Messi in the last game," said Canada coach Jesse Marsch. The former RB Leipzig coach is not only warned about the attacking star for this reason: "We all know that he is the best player to have ever played this game."
Messi did, however, miss a penalty in the quarter-final against Ecuador. Nevertheless, the world champions won 4:2 on penalties in Houston. "I was pretty disappointed, but confident at the same time," said Messi about the moments after his miss against the crossbar. Messi had already complained of problems with his right leg during the group stage and took a break in the last game before the knockout round.
dpa
