Messi ahead of Copa America final: ‘These are the last battles and I’m enjoying them to the maximum’

Argentina captain Lionel Messi said he was enjoying the “last battles” with the team after scoring in the 2-0 Copa America semifinal win over Canada on Tuesday.

Messi, who had failed to score thus far in the tournament, struck in the 51st minute, adding to Julian Alarez’s opening goal to power Argentina into their third consecutive Major final after the Copa America in 2021 and the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022.

“I’m living it like I lived it in the last Copa America, in the last World Cup….these are the last battles and I’m enjoying them to the maximum,” Messi told TyC Sports after being adjudged Player of the Match in the semis.

Currently playing for Inter Miami in Major League Soccer in the US, Messi has yet to confirm whether he will stay on with the Albicelste for their title defence at the 2026 World Cup.

“The truth is that it’s crazy what this group has done, what the Argentina national team has been doing, because after all this it gives value to all (the tournaments) I and the old generation have played in.

POV: You witnessed Messi score a record-breaking 109th Int’l goal 😍🐐

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“It’s not easy for us to be in a final again, for us to compete again to be champions,” Messi added after the win at the MetLife Stadium.

Messi added that the tournament has been challenging thus far. “It’s a difficult Copa, evenly matched, with very bad pitches, with high temperatures, very tough teams, and for us to be in a final again is something to enjoy,” he said.

‘Leave him alone’

Argentina are set to bid goodbye to veterans Angel Di Maria and Nicolas Otamendi at the end of the tournament even as Messi’s future remains under a cloud.

“You know how I feel about Angel. We don’t want to retire him earlier than needed. We don’t want to feel melancholy. We have to let him play, and then we’ll see if we can convince him or not to stay with us. But so far, he’s here, and he has to be allowed to enjoy this moment,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni told reporters.

When asked about Messi’s “last battles” comment, Scaloni said: “We have to leave him alone, he knows that we will not be the ones to close the door on him. He can stay with us as long as he wants, even when he retires…Let him decide what he wants.

Reaching the final for a record-extending 31st time, Argentina are slated to meet the winner of a Uruguay-Columbia clash in the final on Sunday.

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