Following Argentina’s victory over Guatemala in their final Copa América warm-up match on Friday, Lionel Messi cautioned his teammates that the road ahead would be far from easy.
Messi and Lautaro Martínez both netted twice in the 4-1 win at Fedex Field, Washington, D.C., overturning an early own goal by Lisandro Martínez that initially gave Guatemala the lead.
Reflecting on the match, Messi acknowledged the tough task ahead of defending the title they clinched in 2021.
“It’s going to get harder and harder for us, nothing is going to be easy for us,” he said.
“But we’re going to try again.
“We are working with the same desire as always, with the same intensity in each training session and facing these games as we always do.”
Argentina announced their official squad for the tournament on Saturday.
“I have decided which players will be left out, but first I am going to inform them,” head coach Lionel Scaloni said.
“The decision always involves looking for the best for the team. This is the most difficult list of all because we have had complications.”
Scaloni emphasized that Messi is aware he will feature in all of the team’s matches “provided he remains in good health.” The Copa América commences on June 20 with Argentina taking on Canada at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.