Speaking before the 2024 Copa America semi-final against Canada, coach Lionel Scaloini affirmed that Messi is in very good physical condition and ready to play.

Copa America 2024 semi-final schedule

07:00 July 10: Argentina – Canada

07:00 July 11: Uruguay – Colombia

At 7:00 am tomorrow morning (July 10), Argentina will face Canada in the Copa America semi-finals. Before this match, fans were concerned about Messi’s ability. The number 10 player returned in the match against Ecuador but played quite poorly because he was not in the best physical condition.

Messi is in excellent physical condition and ready to play in the match against Canada in the Copa America semi-final (Photo: Getty).

Speaking at a press conference before the match against Canada, coach Scaloini mentioned Messi’s ability to play. He said: “Messi is 99% fit to play. I have never thought about trying to force him to play when he is not in good shape.

Every time Messi plays, he is in good shape. Therefore, it was an easy decision for me to arrange for Messi to play against Canada. I have a clear point of view: if Messi is in good shape, he starts. If he is not in good shape, he will only come on for the last 30 minutes.

I take responsibility for my decisions but I have never doubted Messi’s ability to play. I know what he can bring to the team, even when he is not in the best condition. I will not make a serious mistake by not playing Messi even though I know he is still useful for the team.”

Messi has yet to score a goal at Copa America 2024 (Photo: Getty).

Meanwhile, Canada coach Jesse Marsch has vowed to find a way to stop Messi. “We didn’t deal with Messi well in the group stage,” he said. “We let him run too much in front of goal. We’ll have to improve on that, of course.

But everyone knows that Messi is the greatest player in this tournament. We have to respect him. It is an honor for the Canadian team to face such a great player.

The whole team is very excited and ready to enter the match against Argentina. The challenge is huge. We will wait and see if we can do better than the match in the group stage.”

In the past, Argentina has had the upper hand when facing Canada. In both matches, the Tango team won.