The superstar, nursing a back injury he suffered in a pre-cup friendly, was not named to the starting lineup for the nation’s match with Chile on Monday night, but he could still play.
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Sunday night saw Venezuela edge Jamaica 1-0 in the two teams’ relatively low-profile opener.
Argentina coach Gerardo Martino says Lionel Messi should be fit to play in four days against Panama at the Copa America.
La Roja, who were limping for most of the game, found a late consolation through Jose Pedro Fuenzalida but slumped to a worrying fifth defeat in their last 6 games as Argentina gained a measure of revenge for the heart-break in last year’s final. That, after all, is why they’re the favorites to finally win major silverware for the first time since 1993.
Chile head coach Juan Antonio Pizzi believed that his team had an advantage coming into the game with Messi out, but similarly praised the work Gaitan did in his stead.
At Brazil 2014, Argentina went scoreless after Di Maria went down with injury, and in the 2015 Copa America final, the Paris Saint-Germain winger went off within the first half hour.
This was Di Maria’s moment. “So we’re thinking we will be in a better position by then”.
“It’s important to respond the right way when he’s not there”, Martino said.
Di Maria said he couldn’t not play. Chile counters with Bayern Munich midfielder Arturo Vidal, Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez and Barcelona goalkeeper Claudio Bravo and will have no fear of the world’s No. 1-ranked team.
All that made Messi’s absence from the most anticipated group-play game in the tournament seem minor by comparison. Hardly. But tenacious Argentina at least proved that when Leo can not weave his magic, they still have the ability to grind out big results.
“I knew that taking the Chile job would be hard and difficult”, he said.
The world’s greatest soccer player had to join a sold-out crowd of 69,461 delighted fans to watch what unfolded into a Copa America Centenario spectacle for top-ranked Argentina. The Man City striker shifted the ball onto his left foot but fired over from just outside the area as Argentina aimed to put the game to bed.
“When the best player in the world is absent you can not duplicate that”, Martino said.
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The two teams from Group D, along with Panama and Bolivia, are expected by a lot of fans to come out of the group stages and go deep into the knockout rounds.
