Messi Leads Argentina into Copa América as Defending Champions

When Lionel Messi at last exulted in Qatar a year and a half ago, edging France in a shootout to win an electrifying World Cup final, La Albiceleste finished rewriting a narrative that had followed it to every major tournament for nearly 30 years.

The global title was its first since 1986, when Diego Maradona steered the nation to its second World Cup win. That achievement came on the heels of the 2021 Copa América triumph — the Argentines’ first continental crown since 1993. Over two tournaments 17 months apart, Messi filled both glaring holes in his résumé as the greatest to have played the game.

Now, Argentina is preparing for the expanded 16-team Copa América, hosted in the United States for the second time and featuring six Concacaf guests alongside the usual South American participants. For the first time in Messi’s decorated career, he’s representing Argentina as a defending champion.

“We are very hungry,” said Argentina center back Lisandro Martínez, a starter for Manchester United. “We know the importance to represent this shirt. We go step by step, game by game. This is our philosophy. We don’t want to change that.”

If Argentina is taking its foot off the gas in the wake of its World Cup title, you wouldn’t know it from the results. The Argentines sit atop CONMEBOL qualifying for the 2026 World Cup with a 5-1-0 record. Overall, La Albiceleste is 12-1-0 since it won the World Cup with 28 goals scored and three allowed.

“Obviously, they always have pressure because they’re Argentina,” said Diego Valeri, the former Argentina midfielder and Portland Timbers star who works as a pundit for Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass broadcasts. “The expectation is always high. But coming from winning everything, it’s something that I think is going to help because the pressure is going to be there — but not the same tension.”

Messi, who turns 37 this month, has said he’s unsure whether he will continue playing for Argentina through the next World Cup. Despite his age and a move last summer from French powerhouse Paris Saint-German to MLS club Inter Miami, Messi has continued to produce for Argentina, appearing in four of six World Cup qualifiers and netting a team-high three goals.

With Miami, his numbers have been staggering: 25 goals and 23 assists over 29 matches in all competitions. Although Miami sat in last place when Messi arrived, he promptly led the team to the Leagues Cup crown (a midseason tournament featuring clubs from MLS and Mexico). This season, he has Inter sitting atop MLS with a 10-3-5 record.

“I see him very happy,” Argentina right back Gonzalo Montiel said through an interpreter. “I see him very eager to keep going. We always try to enjoy his company. He’s a unique player, and seeing him in every training session is very special.”

Messi came on as a 56th-minute substitute in Argentina’s 1-0 win over Ecuador on Sunday night in Chicago, and Argentina Coach Lionel Scaloni said at a news conference Thursday night that he will start his captain against Guatemala.

“If he can play the whole match,” Scaloni said in Spanish, “even better.”

For D.C. area fans, Messi’s appearance will be a first: The forward sat out Argentina’s 2015 friendly against El Salvador in Landover with a foot injury and missed in Landover with a hamstring issue.

Health and sharpness will be priorities for Argentina heading into its Copa América campaign, which begins against Canada on Thursday in Atlanta. The Argentines will then face Chile on June 25 in East Rutherford — a rematch of the 2016 Copa América final at the same stadium — and conclude the group stage vs. Peru on June 29 in Miami.

“Just having the crest on your chest is something very beautiful, and it’s something that we look forward to every time,” said Montiel, who converted the World Cup-clinching penalty kick against France. “We want to keep growing as a team. We want to take advantage of the opportunities that we have, and we want to remain healthy for the first game of Copa América.”

Messi is far from the only star attraction on this Argentine roster. Goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, defender Nicolás Otamendi, midfielders Alexis Mac Allister and Enzo Fernández, and attacker Ángel Di María — who, unlike Messi, has confirmed this will be his international swan song — are among the World Cup standouts still in the squad.

Then there’s blue-chip talent waiting in the wings. For left back Valentín Barco, playmaker Valentín Carboni and attacker Alejandro Garnacho — a trio of 19-year-olds — this Copa América could mark a passing of the torch as Messi shares the field with the next generation of Argentine prodigies.

“We’re enjoying Messi’s games because you never know how long he’s going to keep playing,” Valeri said. “But we’re starting to see some young guys, and we want to see how they deal with these kind of tournaments.”