At 8 a.m. Beijing time on July 15, the 2024 Copa America entered the final showdown, and Messi once again led the Argentina team to stand in the final of the Copa America, against not Samba Army Brazil, but Colombia.
In this Copa America, Argentina played relatively smoothly, winning 3 games and 3 victories in the group stage, scoring 5 goals and not conceding 1 goal, highlighting the super dominance of the Pampas Eagles in the Americas. However, in the 1|4 knockout round, facing Ecuador, Argentina almost lost its hooves, fought fiercely for 120 minutes, and drew 1:1, unable to win Ecuador, fortunately, during the penalty shootout, Argentina was taken care of by Lady Luck, and finally won 5:3 and eliminated Ecuador.
In the semi-finals, Argentina returned to their strengths, settling the battle after 90 minutes of regular time, defeating Canada, a 2-0 winner, to advance to the Copa America final. This time against the strong Colombia, with the experience of the 1|4 knockout round against Ecuador, Argentina coach Scaloni must be doubly careful.
The data shows that Argentina's last 4 meetings with Colombia have only achieved a record of 1 win, 2 draws and 1 loss, and have not taken any advantage, so it is really hard to say whether Messi can have the last laugh in this game. It is worth mentioning that this is likely to be the last Copa America of the football king Messi, and the whole team will definitely go all out in order to complete Messi and win the last Copa America of his career. Here's a quick prediction of the starting lineup that Argentina is likely to field.
In the goalkeeper position, it is natural that the main goalkeeper Damian Martinez continues to guard the Argentina goal; At the back, it is no surprise that Scaloni will continue with his usual back four, with Montiel, Cristian Romero, Otamendi and Tagliafico likely to start. Cristian Romero and Nicolas Otamendi will play in central defence, while Tagliafico and Montiel will play at wing-back.
In midfield, there is no doubt that the main defender responsible for intercepting and tackling in Argentina's midfield will still be De Paul; Partnering De Paul in a two-man midfield combination should be Enzo Fernandez. Next to the two midfielders, it is expected that ace veteran Di Maria and young talent McAllister will be separated from each other to serve as the attacking duo of the Argentina team, and the two will form a strategy in the front court, joining forces to feed the Argentina front court pass and provide the strongest firepower support.
On the forward line, there is no doubt that the top charge for Argentina will still be the football king Messi; And the striker combination with Messi is naturally Manchester City's "little spider" Alvarez.
Based on the above analysis, the final expected starting lineup for Argentina against Colombia is: Damian Martinez; Montiel, Cristian Romero, Otamendi, Tagliafico; De Paul, Enzo Fernandez, McAllister, Di Maria; Messi, Alvarez