The alarms of the Argentine national team went off in what was the first half of the match they played against the Chile team, for the second date of Group A of the Copa America 2024 that takes place in the USA. The 37-year-old forward had been feeling some discomfort with the response of his right leg, but it became much more intense in the 23rd minute of the game. At that moment, overturned on the right side, Messi was the victim of a foul by Gabriel Suazo, and in the fall he let it be known with gestures of pain that he was not at 100%.
He was immediately treated by the Albiceleste team’s medical staff and continued playing, although he was seen frequently shaking and touching the area which affected him on more than one occasion until the conclusion of the first half of the game.
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Inter Miami’s captain and star forward returned to the field for the second half and took advantage of the mid-match break to stretch and test his leg a little. But the moment where there was truly the most uncertainty and fear was in the 30th minute of the game when Messi was the leader of a counterattack, the ball was stolen from him and he was again seen with clear expressions of pain.
Messi is more active than ever
However, this was never a condition for him to continue being active in the match and attacking the rival fence defended by Claudio Bravo; In the 35th minute of play, he managed to finish off a left-footed shot that passed very close to the goal and ended up hitting the post. Messi also took charge of kicking each of the stopped balls in the match without any major problems.
Despite the doubts, Messi came out to play the compliment. At 4′ he was able to deliver an excellent pass to his teammate Nahuel Molina, who took a powerful shot that managed to be rejected by Bravo, in the clearest situation for the defending champion to be ahead on the match scoreboard. And at 56 he was able to send a fairly precise and clear cross for the entry of Alexis Mac Allister, who failed to connect with power and Argentina missed another great chance to go ahead on the scoreboard. In the epilogue, he attempted an Olympic goal that Bravo read and avoided without major consequences. As if that were not enough, Messi executed the cross that ended in Lautaro Martinez scoring.
Messi analyzed and spoke about the match
“We already said it, the court does not help us to play speedily and get out of the bottom with speed. Many times we need two or three touches to be able to make the exit and find the passes between the lines with which we do so much damage to our rivals. This court makes you have to wait longer and that makes it easier for opposing defenders.”
“The hunger of this group is always there. To play against South American teams when you can’t play you have to get it out somehow. We knew it was going to be like this and for us, it was important to win to qualify. Chile also plays its part so the game we expected is normal.”
What did Messi say about his physical discomfort?
“What do I know, now I’ll see. Yes, it bothers me a little. I was able to end up playing, I hope it’s nothing serious.” And he added: “It was out of nowhere. A couple of days ago I came in with a sore throat and fever, maybe that took a toll on me today too. But it’s not something old or something I had, just a contract. We will see.”
