Striker Lionel Messi has recovered from injury and will return to the starting lineup in the first match of the Copa America 2024 quarter-finals, starting at 8am today.

Ecuador suddenly has an opportunity

• Ecuador won a throw-in in the Argentine half. Moises Caicedo exchanged passes with his team-mate before breaking free and meeting Enner Valencia’s header. Three Argentine players chased the Chelsea midfielder as he drove into the box but couldn’t keep up with Caicedo’s pace. However, Caicedo’s low right-footed shot was weak and not sharp enough to beat Martinez.
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The game begins 

• Argentina kicked off first. Martinez passed the ball back to Messi. In this match, Argentina wore their traditional blue and white striped shirts and white shorts. Ecuador wore dark blue.
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• Messi chats with Ecuador striker Enner Valencia on the way back to the dressing room after the warm-up. Photo: AFP
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Ecuadorian player sets new record at Copa America

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• Wise Paez.
• At 17 years and 61 days old, Kendry Páez became the youngest player in Copa America history to play in a quarter-final. The midfielder, who wore the No. 10 jersey, topped Group B with 19 recoveries and finished second in shots with 10, behind only Venezuelan forward Salomon Rondon, who had 13.

Messi is back

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• Messi leads the Argentine players onto the NRG field in Houston, Texas, preparing to warm up before the match. Photo: AFP
• Messi had to play through the pain of the first two group stage matches, then missed the final match of the 2-0 win over Peru due to injury. He returned to training earlier this week, but it was only after Argentina’s final training session yesterday that coach Lionel Scaloni spoke directly to Messi to clarify his physical feelings, before deciding to start the 37-year-old striker today.
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Argentina announces main squad

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Argentina won all the matches and kept a clean sheet with the results of defeating Canada 2-0, Chile 1-0 and Peru 2-0. Meanwhile, Ecuador struggled to get through the group stage. Felix Sanchez’s team started with a 1-2 loss to Venezuela, beat Jamaica 3-1, drew 0-0 with Mexico to reach the quarter-finals as the second place in Group B.

Argentina have never lost to Ecuador in the Copa America, with 11 wins and five draws. The two teams have only met once in the knockout stages, when Argentina beat Ecuador in the quarterfinals en route to winning the 2021 Copa America.

Therefore, the Opta supercomputer rates Argentina as superior with a 68.4% chance of winning after 90 minutes – compared to Ecuador’s 14.5%. According to Opta, Argentina has a 76.4% chance of reaching the semi-finals and a 38.17% chance of winning the championship – the highest of all teams participating.