The 48th edition of Copa América commences on Thursday night in Atlanta, Georgia as defending champions Argentina commence their quest for a record-breaking 16th Copa title, against competition debutants Canada, seeking to spring an almighty surprise at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Argentina Predicted Lineup Vs. Canada
How Argentina Have Lined up Recently
La Albiceleste have played two warm-up friendlies in the week ahead of this opener, making seven changes from one to the other, most notably seeing Lionel Messi return to the side in Maryland on Friday night.
Given the plethora of options at his disposal, Lionel Scaloni’s team is hard to predict; he announced his final, 26-man squad for this tournament on Saturday, with Valentín Barco, Leonardo Balerdi and Ángel Correa cut from the preliminary roster.
Emi Martínez is the undisputed number one, while namesake Lisandro Martínez is expected to partner Cristian Romero at centre-back, chosen over 36-year-old Nicolás Otamendi.
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Both Nahuel Molina and Gonzalo Montiel got a game at right-back last week, with the former expected to get the nod, while Marcos Acuña and Nicolás Tagliafico are the left-back options.
Similarly, midfield spots are up for grabs, with the trio likely to be Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernández and one other likely to start; Leandro Paredes, Rodrigo De Paul, Exequiel Palacios and Giovani Lo Celso the candidates to complete the trio.
Messi will, ostensibly, be deployed on the right, with Lautaro Martínez’s Capocannoniere-winning club form seeing him chosen to lead the line, but left-wing remains a question mark, with Julián Álvarez filling in there recently, a role he could continue to occupy.
Argentina Recent Form and Tactics
Argentina come into this tournament following five successive wins, beating Brazil 1-0 at the Maracanã in their most recent competitive fixture, thereby inflicting the Seleção’s first-ever defeat in World Cup qualifying on home soil.
Since, la Albiceleste have won all four friendlies in 2024, beating both El Salvador and Costa Rica in March, before starting this month by beating Ecuador 1-0 at Soldier Field, with Ángel Di María the only scorer in Chicago.
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Then, on Friday night, they hammered Guatemala 4-1 at Commanders Field, with both the returning Messi and in-form Martínez scoring twice in Landover.
During these wins, Scaloni has been switching between a 4-3-3 and 4-4-2, with his primary tactic, as always, how do we get the best out of Messi?
In group games against teams Argentina are likely to dominate, a front three is likely to be deployed, before switching to the more rigid shape up against tougher opposition in later rounds.
Argentina Injuries to Consider
Paulo Dybala is the only Argentina player currently sidelined due to injury, although he would not have been a key figure either-way.
Fernández sat out Chelsea’s final six Premier League fixtures of the season following groin surgery, but is ready to go, having played 34 minutes against Ecuador and then 71 against Guatemala.
Argentina Predicted Lineup
GK: Emi Martínez
RB: Nahuel Molina
CB: Cristian Romero
CB: Lisandro Martínez
LB: Marcos Acuña
CM: Enzo Fernández
CM: Alexis Mac Allister
CM: Rodrigo De Paul
RW: Lionel Messi
LW: Julián Álvarez
ST: Lautaro Martínez
