There’s no margin for error for teams remaining in the Copa América as the knockout stage starts on Thursday with defending champions Argentina taking on Ecuador at NRG Stadium in Houston.
By Jon Arnold
Argentina’s stars go into the quarter-final well rested. With the team knowing they already into the last round, several young players got an opportunity against Peru – though regular Lautaro Martínez was the star with a pair of goals in the second half.
The star whose condition everyone is most interested in is, without a doubt, Lionel Messi. Messi rested in the 2-0 win after complaining of adductor pain after Argentina’s second group game, a 1-0 victory over Chile. Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni, who missed the Peru match because of a suspension, said Wednesday that they would see how Messi felt after the final pre-match training session before deciding what his role will be.
He trained with the rest of the team in the portion of training open to the press, so there’s reason to believe Messi will at least play significant minutes. Argentina are a different team when it doesn’t have its superstar available, so fans of the Albiceleste will hope to see the No. 10 earn a starting role – though he may play only the first or second 45 minutes of the contest.
Ecuador had hoped to avoid Argentina in the quarter-final by winning Group B but saw their path complicated by a red card to forward Enner Valencia in the first contest of the group stage. They slipped to defeat in that game, to Venezuela, but then beat Jamaica 3-1 and battled to a scoreless draw with Mexico that earned them second place in the group.
Teenage sensation Kendry Páez has largely lived up to his billing as a do-it-all midfield talent but needs some help and also would love to see manager Félix Sánchez adopt a less conservative posture than he did in the lead-up to the tournament and in the group stage. Alan Minda scored a lovely goal on a late counter-attack against Jamaica when the Reggae Boyz were pushed up, but otherwise goals have come from a set piece, a flukey deflection, and a penalty.
If Ecuador finds a way to the semi-finals, it will be breaking new ground. Argentina have won 11 and drawn five meetings between the teams in Copa América tournaments in the past and have avoided defeat in the last seven meetings between the two teams.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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