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Lionel Messi is expected to lead the line when Copa America holders Argentina take on European champions Italy in the Finalissima on Wednesday night (June 1).
Finalissima, a one-off fixture agreed upon between UEFA and CONMEBOL, pits the two best teams from their respective continents against one another. The clash between the Euro and Copa America champions, which will take place at Wembley Stadium, will not have extra time. This means that if the game remains level after 90 minutes, the match will go straight to penalties.
In preparation for the fixture, Argentina trained at Athletic Bilbao’s San Mames stadium before flying to London on Monday (May 30). The captain of the team, Lionel Messi, participated in full team training and had no fitness concerns. Considering the Paris Saint-Germain forward is Lionel Scaloni’s undisputed talisman, he is most likely to be in Argentina’s starting XI at Wembley.
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The former Barcelona forward is yet to play against Italy in his professional career. Argentina have squared off against the Italians twice (2013, 2018) since his international debut, but he missed both matches due to injury. La Albiceleste, however, won both friendlies, securing 2-1 and 2-0 victories, respectively.
Lionel Messi will look to win his second international trophy with Argentina tonight
PSG star Lionel Messi was not at his best for his new employers in the 2021-22 campaign. He struggled to find his footing and did not score as many goals as most had hoped. The Argentine star ended the campaign with only 11 goals in 34 games across competitions, emerging as the team’s third-leading goalscorer behind Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.
Against Italy, the 34-year-old will look to put his best foot forward, hoping to put an individually disappointing season behind him. The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner has looked particularly threatening in the Lionel Scaloni era (16 goals) and we do not expect anything different today.
The No. 10 could drop deep from time to time to help Argentina win the midfield battle. He might try his luck from range. And, as always, his dribbling could create all sorts of trouble for the opposition. Beating Italy will not be easy, but Messi’s determination to win his second senior international trophy (after Copa America 2021) could certainly do irredeemable damage.
