“We’re hungrier than ever” - Alphonso Davies tells Lionel Messi and Argentina to ‘expect a battle’ ahead of Copa America semi-final

Alphonso Davies has sent a warning to Lionel Messi and Argentina ahead of their 2024 Copa America semi-final with Canada. The two teams meet on Tuesday (July 9) in East Rutherford.

Speaking to NDTV, Davies opened up about his and Canada's intent when they face Lionel Messi and Co.:

"It's going to take everything, Going into this game, we know what's on the line. We win and go forward. We lose and go home. They're going to come out with everything. We're hungrier than ever. We expect a battle -- as they should."

Canada's coach Jesse Marsch shared the Bayern Munich full-back's sentiments:

"The game against Argentina will have to be the best we've ever played. ... We're not going to sit back and just try to defend. We will be aggressive. We're going to try to play the way we want to play and see if we can keep it up,"

Lionel Messi and Co. are looking to become the first back-to-back Copa America champions since Chile (2015-16).

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Lionel Messi opens up on troubles he faced before Argentina's Copa America victory over Ecuador

Lionel Messi has revealed that he struggled before facing Ecuador in the Copa America quarterfinals following his injury scare in the group stage. The Argentina legend was injured before the final group game with Peru but returned to the knockouts in time.

Speaking about the difficulties he faced leading up to the game against Ecuador, Messi explained (via The Athletic):

"The truth is bad. With a lot of uncertainty, with lots of fear when I was training, a lot of desire to be here and doing everything possible to be able to play. I was able to be here and (help) the team."

The legendary forward admitted that he's not surprised that the game with Ecuador was hard-fought:

"The truth is it was a difficult match, which was very hard to play. We knew it was going to be that way because they’re a great team, a hard team who press well, who have intense, dynamic players, and when they have the ball they do damage as well. We expected this kind of game."

Messi is still scoreless in three games at the 2024 Copa America but has notched up an assist. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner is looking to win his fourth straight title with Argentina.