With a win over Paraguay on Monday, Argentina will hope to seal a place in the Copa America knockout stages.
Argentina will look for an inspired Messi at the Mané Garrincha stadium in Brasilia as the 33-year-old soccer legend pursues his first Copa America trophy. This is a golden chance for Argentina to win Copa America.
Argentina and Chile have four points, one more than Paraguay, which is in third place and has a game in hand. Uruguay and Bolivia both have 0 points.
In each group, the top four teams advance to the knockout stages.
“We will play match after match, but it is clear we have a great team, and where we can go depends only on ourselves,” said Argentina defender Cristian Romero.
Messi was instrumental in Argentina’s 1-1 tie with Chile and 1-0 victory over Uruguay. Messi will make his 147th appearance for Argentina against Paraguay, equaling Javier Mascherano’s record.
Due to injuries, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni may be unable to rely on midfielder Giovani Lo Celso and winger Nicolás González, with Exequiel Palacios and Ángel Di María as probable alternatives.
Paraguay, which beat Bolivia 3-1 in its only match so far has never beaten Argentina in 22 games in the South American championship.
