Messi's ambition
After winning the Copa America 2021 and the World Cup 2022, Messi is confident that he and Albiceleste will head into the opening match of the Copa America 2024 against the Canadian team at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, on the occasion of his 37th birthday.
I want to enjoy a few more matches as world champions, Messi said after Argentina beat France on penalties to win the 2022 World Cup.
Since that milestone, Messi has scored 10 more goals in 10 international matches with his home team, raising his record to 108 goals in 182 matches for the national team. Messi is only 1 goal behind Ali Daei to be able to rise to 2nd place in the list of players with the most goals for the national team, only behind Cristiano Ronaldo (130 goals).
Ahead of Copa America 2024, Messi and the Argentina team have gone through a very successful period with 2 major titles, not to mention being crowned at the Intercontinental Super Cup. Its not easy to get motivated to compete again after winning everything, said Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni.
To date, Spain is the only team in the world to have won 3 consecutive major titles including EURO 2008, 2012 and the 2010 World Cup. Argentina is aiming to level this great milestone, but it is a huge challenge, especially from the biggest opponent in the region - Brazil.
The blue yellow team brought to the US a demanding squad, especially in attack with Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo - 2 strikers who just won the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid. In addition, the 17-year-old young talent Endrick is also a notable name of the Brazilian national team.
The appeal of Copa America 2024
Like in 2016, Copa America this year has 16 participating teams. The US, Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica, Panama and Jamaica will join 10 teams in the South American region, after qualifying from North, Central America and the Caribbean.
A total of 14 stadiums will be used for Copa America 2024, including 8 locations for the 2026 World Cup. The South American Football Federation (CONMEBOL) said that more than 1 million tickets have been sold for the upcoming 32 matches, a fairly high number for this tournament.
In addition to Argentina's ambition to defend the championship and Brazil's desire, Copa America 2024 is the biggest training session of the three co- host teams of the 2026 World Cup (USA, Canada and Mexico) for the tournament in the next 2 years. For the home team, they have called up 18 players who have participated in the 2022 World Cup to compete in Copa America this year.
"The home World Cup is the best thing we can do in our career. This is a special time for football in the US, said Christian Pulisic, captain of the US team.
On the other hand, for example, security, Copa America 2024 will help the World Cup a lot 2 years later. For example, at MetLife Stadium, where a Copa America 2024 semi-final and the 2026 World Cup final will take place, a security system has just been set up with 80 8K cameras to monitor all developments in the stands.
We can see every seat at the stadium. I think it acts as an effective preventative measure. We have 3 systems to detect drones.
We can not only track drones, but more importantly, we can track where the operator is, said Daniel DeLorenzi, Deputy Head of Security Services at MetLiFe Stadium.
