On the morning of June 3, the Argentinian team members who had just arrived (about 13 people) had a light practice session at the training area of Inter Miami Club, where Messi was playing.

According to journalist Gaston Edul of TyC Sports channel: “Messi will come to the team on June 3 after resting for 1 day after the match, along with the remaining players. After that, the whole team will have a practice session. fully on Chase Stadium (Inter Miami’s main stadium), officially starting the journey to prepare for Copa America”.

Among the Argentine team convened to prepare for the Copa America campaign (taking place in the US from June 20 to July 14) to defend the championship, there is an unfortunate absence of striker Paulo Dybala.

As soon as he arrived in the US, coach Scaloni explained: “That is the most painful part of being a coach. It is not easy to remove someone from the playing list. Dybala did not come because of position and list issues, we are thinking about. There are some players whose physical condition we also have to evaluate.”

The Argentine team, after training in Miami City, will play two friendly matches to gain momentum for Copa America, including the match against Ecuador (June 10) in Chicago, Illinois. Next is the match against the Guatemala team on June 15 in Landover City, Maryland. After these matches, coach Scaloni will narrow the list to 26 players officially participating in the Copa America (eliminating 3 players).

In the Copa America group stage, the Argentina team (located in Group A) plays their opening match against the Canadian team at 7:00 a.m. on June 21 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. Next is the match against Chile at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey at 8:00 a.m. on June 26; and the final group stage match against Peru at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida at 7:00 a.m. on June 30.

Throughout the Copa America campaign, the Argentine team chose its main base in Miami City and practiced at Chase Stadium. They only traveled to the competition location for about 2 days to prepare.

Messi is ready

“We see Messi very well. It’s important for him to maintain his form after injury, he seems ready. He will join us on June 3 and then we will talk more”, Coach Scaloni shared when answering the Argentinian press upon arriving in Miami City on June 2.

Messi has just finished playing for Inter Miami before attending the Copa America. He scored consecutive goals in the last 2 matches he just returned to play. But these are two matches where Inter Miami only drew and lost against St. Louis City SC is 3-3 and Atlanta United is 1-3. However, considering personal factors, the performance of this 36-year-old famous player is extremely good and he is also physically fit (playing for 90 minutes per match when playing from the official squad).

In total, since the beginning of 2024, Messi has so far played for Inter Miami in 15 matches with 1,264 minutes on the field. He scored 14 goals and had 11 assists. Messi and teammate Suarez are both ranked 3rd on the list of top scorers in MLS 2024 (both with 12 goals), only behind Cristian Arango (Real Salt Lake Club, scored 16 goals) and Christian Benteke (DC United, scored 13 goals). table).

With extremely good form and perfect physical condition, Messi shows that he is ready for the campaign to defend the Copa America championship.