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Argentina captain Lionel Messi has reportedly told his boss Lionel Scaloni that he wishes to start the 2024 Copa America quarter-final with Ecuador in Houston, Texas, on Thursday (July 4). Messi missed the previous game against Peru due to discomfort.
The 37-year-old has had an injury-plagued start to the year, missing multiple games for club and country. However, as per Albiceleste Talk, Messi has told Scaloni that he wants to start against Ecuador, having recovered well.
The final decision on whether the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner starts or not will be taken by Scaloni in the hours leading up to the matchup. Albiceleste Talk reported (as per TyC Sports journalist Gaston Edul and Todo Noticias' Leo Paradizo):
"Leo Messi has informed Scaloni he wants to start tonight. Leo feels recovered and well, he is shaping up to start. Scaloni will decide in the coming hours."
Earlier in the day, Albiceleste Talk had reported Scaloni as saying:
“We will wait before making a decision about Messi. Yesterday, we had good feelings about Leo. Yes, it's an option for Lautaro and Julian to start together if Leo is not there. We will wait for today's training to discuss.
"It changes things if Leo doesn’t play. We'll try to have him. It’s fair to wait until the last moment and let him take his time. Before training, I will talk with him to decide what we will do tomorrow. To define the team, we will wait to see how he is, as we had good feelings yesterday.”
La Albiceleste are looking to win a fifth straight competitive game without conceding since beating Brazil 1-0 in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier last year.
Records and milestones awaiting Argentina captain Lionel Messi at 2024 Copa America
Argentina attacker Lionel Messi has had a quiet start to his 2024 Copa America campaign, going scoreless in two games. However, he did notch up an assist in the 2-0 opening group-stage game with Canada.
With 13 goals, La Pulga is only five strikes away from equalling the Copa America scoring record. He's already the competition's record appearance maker, going two past previous record holder Sergio Livingstone (34), former Chile goalkeeper.
Messi is also looking to become the first player to win consecutive Player of the Tournament awards at the Copa and join an exclusive group of 10 players to net multiple hat-tricks. He's already the first Argentine player to appear in seven editions of the competition.
