Argentina vs. Chile
Copa America Centenario – Group D
June 6 | 10:00 pm ET | Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California
TV: FS1, UniMás, UDN
In one of the most anticipated match-ups of the group stage, Argentina and Chile will meet on Monday night at Levi's Stadium.
The game will feature some of the biggest stars in the tournament including Arturo Vidal, Alexis Sanchez, Sergio Aguero and (maybe) Lionel Messi.
It is also a rematch of last year's Copa America final, in which Chile defeated Argentina in penalties at home. Chile beat Argentina 4-1 in penalties as Gonzalo Higuain and Ever Banega missed their penalties and Chile made all four of theirs.
The two nations are clear favorites to advance out of Group D as Panama and Bolivia start their tournament at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.
Here are three things we’re looking at in advance of Sunday’s game:
Will Messi play?
He is the best player in the world but Lionel Messi still has not taken home a trophy for his country. And now he has starting off this edition of Copa America as a bit of a question mark. The Barcelona star injured his back in a friendly against Honduras on Friday night and head coach Tata Martino has said that he will be a last-minute decision.
Messi trained separately from the group on Friday and Saturday and will be hoping to get back on the field so he could match Argentina's all-time leading goalscorer Gabriel Bautista, who he is six goals behind.
Title defense
Chile enter this tournament as the defending champions, after defeating Argentina in last years final. Things will be a little tougher this time around as the tournament is not being held in their home country. The good news is that the still have talent to compete with anybody in the world.
Their captain, Claudio Bravo, is the goalkeeper for La Liga champions Barcelona and he will be protected by Gary Medel, a veteran who currently plies his trade with Inter Milan. The midfield is anchored by one of the top central midfielders in the world, Arturo Vidal, and the attack is led by Arsenal winger Alexis Sanchez. That doesn't even include Eduardo Vargas, who was the joint top goalscorer of last years Copa America.
All that talent should easily take them to the knockout stages and easily much farther.
End the drought
Despite being one the top teams in the world over the last quarter decade, Argentina have not taken home a trophy since 1993. And now they may be without their top player to start the tournament.
The good news is that they are in decent form, having won their last four games, and have some other world-class players at their disposal. They just have to figure out a way to get them all on the field. Sergio Aguero, despite scoring 50 goals over the past two Premier League seasons with Manchester City, may be left on the bench in favor of in-form striker Gonzalo Higuain.
If Martino can figure out a way to get all of his players working together, Argentina should be one of (if not the) favorite to take home the trophy.
