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Argentina will be playing in the 2024 Copa America finals against Colombia in a short while from now, and the competition's official X account posted a touching tribute to Lionel Messi.
The former Barcelona ace will be guiding his side out in yet another major final, with eyes on a fourth international trophy. It might well be his last game for Argentina, especially if they retain their crown.
Having suffered a long trophy drought with the national side, Messi broke the jinx in 2021 when the Albiceleste won Copa America. He later followed it up with the Finalissima and more importantly, the FIFA World Cup too.
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Today, the 37-year-old has a chance to add another trophy to his already bulging cabinet, and ahead of their mouthwatering showpiece with Colombia, Copa America themselves put out a tribute for him.
On their official X account, they posted a 36-seconds long video that shows Messi leading his side out of the tunnel for various games at the ongoing tournament, and even for pre-game training.
In every clip, the Argentine skipper can be seen in a pensive mood, but also having a few words with his teammates before heading out for a match, displaying his leadership qualities.
The video was captioned:
"Lionel Messi. Leader and legend." [translated]
Argentina play Colombia at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida for the 2024 Copa America finals on Sunday, July 14
Messi set to play in his 9th final with Argentina
The 2024 Copa America finals will be Lionel Messi's ninth with Argentina, including the one-off Finalissima in 2022. It also marks his fifth in the CONMEBOL tournament, and a second in a row.
In his previous four appearances at this stage of the competition, Messi endured three disappointments in a row (2007, 2015 and 2016), before finally getting the monkey off his back in 2021.
At the World Cups, the 2014 finals didn't go his way, but Messi redeemed himself eight years later. Today could be his last chance to win another trophy for his nation.
Standing in their way are an in-form Colombia side that hasn't lost a game in 28 outings now. At the current tournament too, Los Cafeteros have won five of their six matches. But ironically, the last side to beat them in a competitive match was Argentina, who won 1-0 in a FIFA World Cup qualifier back in February 2022.
