EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey — Two down, five more to go. And Argentina has practically clinched a spot in the Copa America quarterfinals.
Lionel Messi’s corner kick was deflected, leading to a goal by Lautaro Martinez in the 88th minute, and Argentina beat Chile 1-0 in front of a sellout crowd of 81,106 fans at MetLife Stadium on Tuesday night.
One day after Messi’s 37th birthday, he did not score for the second straight Copa America match. He did not have an assist either, despite his corner kick leading to the game-winning goal.
More important, Messi finished the match despite having his right groin area massaged on the sideline by a trainer in the 25th minute. He also favored the injury about 10 minutes later, using the time to attend to himself as an opposing player was injured.
Argentine news outlet TYCSports reports Messi may not play in Argentina’s third group play match Saturday against Peru at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
“I hope it’s nothing serious,” Messi said of his injury after the match.
Messi had one clear shot toward the net, firing a left boot and grazing the right post in the 36th minute. He was instrumental in the second half, leading Argentina’s offensive attack.
Argentina nearly played to a scoreless draw against Chile – the two clubs playing to scoreless Copa America finals in 2015 and 2016 before Chile decided both matches.
Argentine goalie Dibu Martinez didn’t have as busy of a day, saving three shots on goal in the match – Chile’s only attempts in the game.
But Peru goalie Claudio Bravo – who played with Messi at FC Barcelona from 2014-16 – fended off 21 of Argentina’s 22 shots in the match until Martinez’s score.
Argentina has six points in Group A – ahead of Canada (three), Chile (one) and Peru (one) – making Saturday’s match against Peru at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami a chance to rest Messi if he needs it. Chile faces Canada on Saturday in the final group-play matches for each team.
Argentina finally breaks through: A corner kick from Leo Messi was deflected, but Lauturo Martinez was in the right place at the right time.
Martinez scores in the 88th minute, and Argentina appears primed to beat Chile 1-0 and move onto the Copa America quarterfinal.
After a VAR lasting more than two minutes, the goal was confirmed.
The sellout crowd at MetLife Stadium tops 80,000.
Chile’s Rodrigo Echeverría has the club’s first two shots toward the net in this match, both gobbled by Argentine goalie Dibu Martínez.
Messi took off on a run, took a pass on a bounce, and awkwardly tried to kick toward the net to no avail.
Again, Peru goalie Claudio Bravo – who played with Messi at FC Barcelona 2014-16 – made the save.
The referee finally sided with Messi after a tackle in the 65th minute, calling a foul and issuing a free kick at midfield.
Nicolás González’s shot on goal was deflected by Peru goalie Claudio Bravo and hit the cross bar in before the 61st minute, another opportunity where Argentina nearly scored. It was also another near-assist for Messi.
Messi, with the perfect touch, lofted a pass into the goal area. But Alexis Mac Allister was unable to chip the pass enough to send it into the back of the net.
Argentina is pushing the pace in the second half, and Messi’s two passes for near assists show he’s only gotten stronger as the match as persisted.
Messi delivered a pass to Nahuel Molina, who fired toward the net, but Peru goalie Claudio Bravo made the save just before the 50th minute. It was almost another Copa América assist for Messi.
Lionel Messi held up two fingers, as he spoke to Uruguayan referee Andres Matonte, just before halftime, to complain about at least two no-calls during the first half.
Messi’s groin concern isn’t affecting his dribbling: Here’s a midfield shake he delivered to Chile.
A swing and a miss by Lionel Messi in the 36th minute vs. Chile.
Messi’s kick barely grazed off the right post, a sequence that left him scratching his head after the missed opportunity.
It’s unclear whether Messi’s groin injury affected him on the shot – maybe a little, if at all.
Lionel Messi stood on the sideline near Argentina’s bench, getting his right groin massaged by a trainer for several minutes during the first half, just before the 25th minute.
Messi did run onto the pitch again after receiving treatment, and will remain in the match. During a stoppage around 10 minutes later, Messi did hunch over to tend to his injury again.
It’s something to keep track of as Argentina continues its match vs. Chile, needing a win to reach the Copa América quarterfinals.
Well, the refs (it’s a Uruguayan staff by the way) are letting them play. Messi appeared to question, what he believed, was a foul that could have resulted in a free kick just outside the penalty box.
Chile has converged on Messi every time he’s touched the ball, a typical defense Messi often sees.
The feeling-out process continues here in the first half, with Argentina’s Julián Álvarez not getting enough of a chip shot in the 21st minute.
The field is grass placed on top of artificial turf, because well, MetLife Stadium is notoriously not a natural grass venue.
It’s a change from the pitch in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which was artificial turf – much to the chagrin of Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni.
“We knew we were going to play here for seven months, and the turf was placed two days ago,” Scaloni said last Thursday. “I don’t think the field was well for the players.” Scaloni was not as outspoken about the itch during his pregame press conference Monday, shying away from the issue before the Chile match.
It’s a sellout crowd for Argentina and Chile tonight. Check out this scene setter during the FS1 broadcast.
Argentina and Chile will kickoff at 9 p.m. ET, 10 p.m. in Argentina.
Argentina vs. Chile will broadcast on FS1 (in English) or TUDN and Univision (in Spanish).
With a win over Chile tonight, Argentina would advance to quarterfinals with six points in Group A. A draw, however, would make Argentina’s June 29 match vs. Peru interesting.
Canada’s 1-0 win over Peru earlier Tuesday, puts the Canadians in second place with three points in Group A behind Argentina.
Argentina has three points from its win over Canada last Thursday, and a 2-1 goal differential over Canada before tonight’s match. Chile and Peru each have a point in Group A.
FOX analyst Alexi Lalas on Argentina and Lionel Messi during pregame show:
“This Argentina team is a home team here in the United States,” Lalas said. “These are the world champions. They are the Copa America champions. They are defending their title. And they have the best player of all time.”
Yes. Messi is in the starting lineup for Argentina’s match against Chile.
Messi smiled and waved outside a hotel window to greet adoring fans on his 37th birthday Monday, in a celebration spanning from Times Square in New York City to the Argentine national team’s hotel in New Jersey.
Argentine fans wearing white and sky blue flooded the streets of Times Square on Monday afternoon – dancing, jumping and signing “Soy Argentino, Es un sentimiento, Que no puedo parar. (I am Argentine. It’s a feeling that I cannot stop).”
About 20 miles away at the Hilton Short Hills on Monday night, fans parked at a nearby mall and waited for hours to see Messi and several of his teammates, before staff members served two large sheets of dulce de leche cake, an Argentine favorite.
Read more about Argentina’s fans before Tuesday’s match.
Tickets for Argentina-Chile match are sold out, Conmebol announced earlier today. It’s the second straight sellout crowd Argentina will play in front of after 70,564 fans watched the tournament opener last Thursday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Argentina has -225 odds to win, while a draw has +310 odds, and a Chile upset holds +675. The over/under is 2.5 goals, according to BETMGM.
Messi, during another relaxed, introspective interview with Argentine journalist Juan Pablo Varsky, released Monday, said his soccer prowess and talent was a gift from above.
“It’s very clear to me that I was born like this because God chose me,” Messi said. “It was a gift he gave me. I tried to take advantage of it, I did everything possible to squeeze the most out of it.”
Messi waited until the 88th minute to leave his mark in the Copa América 2024 opener. He delivered an assist to Lautaro Martinez, while Julián Álvarez scored shortly after halftime to help Argentina beat Canada 2-0 last Thursday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Chile and Peru played to a scoreless draw last Friday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Argentina and Chile have won three of the last five Copa América tournaments.
Argentina’s win came in 2011, setting the stage for its 2022 World Cup title run.
But Argentina endured losses to Chile at the Copa América finals in 2015 and 2016 – the latter causing Messi to briefly retire from the national team.  
Messi remains the face of Argentina’s national team. He’ll be the star attraction in Copa América. And he’s open to playing in the next World Cup in 2026 — if his body holds up.
“It depends on how I feel, how I am physically and being realistic with myself. And to know if I am up to the task of being able to compete and help the colleagues next to me,” Messi said. “There’s a while left and I don’t know how I’m going to be at that moment.”
“I’ve done this all of my life. I love playing ball. I enjoy the training, the day to day, the games. Yeah, there’s a bit of fear that it’s all ending. It’s always there,” Messi told ESPN Argentina.
“It was a difficult step leaving Europe to come [to the United States] The fact we won the World Cup helped. It helped a lot, to see things in another way. But I try not to think about [retiring]. I try to enjoy it. I do that more now because I’m aware that there’s not a lot of time left.”
Messi has a new drink, Mas+, debuting in the U.S. He was the hilarious punchline in a “Bad Boys” movie promo with movie stars Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. And if soccer fans aren’t already, they’ll be singing “O-Lays, O-Lays, O-Lays, O-Lays” after his commercials for Lays chips and other companies air all summer long.

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