As reigning champions on both the continental and global stage, 2024 will be an important year for Argentina as they hope to secure one major title and set themselves up to defend the other down the road.
Lionel Messi continues to add milestones and silverware to his legendary career, leading Argentina to new and greater heights almost every time he takes the field.
However, that has built expectations to nearly unmatched heights, and the team will have the weight of trophies on their shoulders as they progress forward in each and every match in the coming year towards the Copa America in the United States.
COPA AMERICA TICKETS: Secure Argentina tickets for the 2024 Copa America in USA
With uncertainty at the head coaching position thanks to questions regarding Lionel Scaloni’s future, Argentina enter 2024 with much to gain but also plenty to lose.
Here is a breakdown of their coming games, including warm-up matches for the Copa America and the tournament itself, over the course of 2024.
Lionel Messi and Argentina will have their sights set on defending their Copa America title in 2024, as they contest the CONMEBOL championship in the United States this coming summer. Their opponent for the tournament’s opening match has yet to be determined, as Canada and Trinidad and Tobago must contest their playoff qualifier to earn a place in Group A.
Argentina also must continue to navigate a competitive 2026 World Cup qualifying tournament, sitting atop the standings but under pressure from a resurgent Uruguay and Colombia.
MORE: Get a full breakdown of Lionel Messi’s longest goal streaks for club and country
La Albiceleste will play Guatemala in Washington six days before their Copa America opener on June 20. Argentina also contested a pair of international friendlies in the United States in March, although Messi was forced to sit out due to muscular problems.
They beat El Salvador 3-0 in Philadelphia on March 23 before downing Costa Rica 3-1 three days later in Los Angeles. Africa Cup of Nations runners-up Nigeria were originally slated for the latter game but have withdrawn due to visa issues.
*If necessary, should Argentina qualify for this stage of competition
COPA AMERICA TICKETS: Secure Argentina tickets for the 2024 Copa America in USA
Hoping to defend their Copa America title from back in 2021, Argentina managed to pull one of the softest possible group draws for the coming competition. They were matched with fellow CONMEBOL sides Peru and Chile, who are both struggling mightily in World Cup qualifying, plus a yet-to-be-determined CONCACAF playoff qualifier.
Argentina will be heavily favored to top their Group A table, but their eventual knockout-stage pathway will only be determined by their confirmed finish in the group standings.
Argentina sit atop the World Cup qualifying standings through six matches but suffered their first defeat in over a year when they fell to Uruguay in November of 2023, leaving them looking over their shoulder.
For the 2026 World Cup’s expanded field, the top six teams in CONMEBOL qualification earn automatic qualification to the competition, while the seventh-place finisher advances to the latest iteration of the intercontinental playoffs.
*Updated as of latest matches on November 22, 2023.
*Ecuador were deducted 3 points by FIFA decree after fielding an ineligible player in a previous qualification cycle.
Argentina’s indispensable star, Lionel Messi is coming off a 2023 calendar year where he continued to set records even as he crossed 36 years of age. As he is set to turn 37 in June of 2024, Messi will hope to continue his legendary career at the international level.
In 2023, Messi scored eight goals for his country across eight games, including a hat-trick against Curacao that brought him above the 100-goal mark for Argentina across his career. He saw a remarkable eight-game international scoring streak come to an end last October with an empty 37-minute substitute appearance against Paraguay, a run that dated all the way back to his standout performance in the 2022 World Cup.
Kyle Bonn is a soccer content producer for The Sporting News.
