The 48th edition of Copa Am\u00e9rica 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.<\/p>\n
[tgdcta items=”1″ id=”180457″]<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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 Valent\u00edn Barco, Leonardo Balerdi and \u00c1ngel Correa cut from the preliminary roster.<\/p>\n
Emi Mart\u00ednez is the undisputed number one, while namesake Lisandro Mart\u00ednez is expected to partner Cristian Romero at centre-back, chosen over 36-year-old Nicol\u00e1s Otamendi.<\/p>\n
Read More:\u00a0<\/strong>Top 5 Argentina Players to Watch at Copa Am\u00e9rica 2024<\/a><\/p>\n Both Nahuel Molina and Gonzalo Montiel got a game at right-back last week, with the former expected to get the nod, while Marcos Acu\u00f1a and Nicol\u00e1s Tagliafico are the left-back options.<\/p>\n Similarly, midfield spots are up for grabs, with the trio likely to be Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fern\u00e1ndez and one other likely to start; Leandro Paredes, Rodrigo De Paul, Exequiel Palacios and Giovani Lo Celso the candidates to complete the trio.<\/p>\n Messi will, ostensibly, be deployed on the right, with Lautaro Mart\u00ednez’s Capocannoniere-winning club form seeing him chosen to lead the line, but left-wing remains a question mark, with Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez filling in there recently, a role he could continue to occupy.<\/p>\nArgentina Recent Form and Tactics<\/span><\/h3>\n