Messi Says He’s OK After Injury Scare at Copa América against Chile

Argentina's Lionel Messi, celebrates scoring his side's first goal against Ecuador during a qualifying soccer match for the FIFA World Cup 2026, at Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Sept. 7, 2023. (Gustavo Garello/AP Photo)

Argentina overcame a determined Chile team and survived an injury scare to superstar Lionel Messi in the 2024 Copa América.

Messi was dealing with a right thigh injury in Argentina’s 1–0 win in front of a sold-out crowd of 81,106 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Tuesday.

Messi is hopeful the ailment will not hinder him throughout the rest of the tournament. Argentina has already qualified for the quarterfinals with its second win in the Copa América.

“I played after several days of sore throat and fever, and this may have affected me. As for the injury, it is not something old or something I was suffering from. It is a muscle spasm,” Messi said at the postmatch mixed zone. “It’s bothering me a bit, but I was able to finish the match. I hope it’s nothing serious. It was hard for me to move freely. Tomorrow we'll see how I feel.”

Messi, who turned 37 on June 24, and Argentina have been impressive over their first two victories in the tournament.

The defending World Cup champions rolled past Canada 2–0 in the opener on goals by Julián Álvarez in the 49th minute and Lautaro Martínez in the 88th minute. Messi set up the second goal with his tournament-record 18th career assist. Messi earned another Copa América record by playing in his 35th match, surpassing Chile’s Sergio Livingstone (1941 to 1953).

“This is what I say about Messi, I’ve coached against him several times and I feel like we’ve had a good match plan and we’ve executed a lot of good things, Canada coach Jesse Marsch said. “He’s so good, he’s that good that he still makes plays. The two balls he makes on the two goals I think are world-class. Amazing, it’s awful. It’s amazing.”

The game against physical Chile was more difficult. Argentina had much more trouble getting into sync as Chile attacked every ball and was the more physical team, earning two yellow cards. It was also a heated rivalry match as Chile defeated Argentina in the Copa América finals in 2015 and 2016.

Lautaro Martínez finally gave Argentina the winner with an 88th-minute goal. Martinez has been Argentina’s top striker recently and has scored five goals in his past five games for the National Team.

Argentina dominated the game and out-shot Chile 22–3 and became the first nation to qualify from the group stage with one game still to play. Argentina plays Peru on Saturday in Miami, where Messi plays professionally in Major League Soccer.

The game between Argentina and Chile was also a good showing for MetLife Stadium, which will host the 2026 World Cup final.

“We deserved to win,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. “The game wasn’t easy. We won it at the moment you least expected it. The team kept believing and attacking. The win is deserved because Argentina made all the effort, but it was very tough.”

With Lionel Messi in the lineup, Argentina is the favorite to win the Copa América, which runs from June 20 to July 14, bringing together 16 participating nations—10 from South America and six qualifiers from the Confederation of North, Central America, and Caribbean Association Football.

The tournament takes place across the United States.

Messi is winding down his international career after winning the World Cup in 2022 against France. While he feels no pressure to capture a second straight major international tournament, he would like to add his already lasting legacy.

“The fact we won the World Cup helped, it helped a lot, to see things in another way,” Messi told ESPN in an interview aired on June 12. “But I try not to think about it. I try to enjoy it. I do that more now because I’m aware that there’s not a lot of time left,” he continued.

“I enjoy my time with the national team, where I also have good friends, too, and a lot. I enjoy those small details that I know I’ll miss when I stop playing,” he added.

Argentina is tied with Uruguay for the most Copa América titles with 15. However, Argentina is on one of the best runs of any National Team in the world and has won 15 of 16 matches since winning the World Cup two years ago.

Brazil finished second in the 2021 Copa América behind Argentina but has looked lackluster in its recent matches. The Brazilians tied Costa Rica 0–0 in the Group D opener in Los Angeles on Monday.

Brazil appears out of sync without its all-time leading scorer Neymar, who is sidelined for the tournament with an anterior cruciate ligament injury. Brazil plays Paraguay at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, on Friday.

Colombia leads Group D following their 2–1 win over Paraguay on Monday and plays Costa Rica on Friday.

The United States is tied with Uruguay atop Group C with both teams earning wins in their opening matches.  The United States was dominant in a 2–o victory over Bolivia on Sunday in Arlington, Texas. Christian Pulisic set the tone with a goal in the third minute—the fastest the U.S. National Team has ever scored against a CONMEBOL opponent—and earned an assist on a goal by Folarin Balogun in the 44th minute.

Pulisic now has 30 goals in 69 international appearances. The 30 goals are tied with Brian McBride for fifth on the U.S. Men’s National Team all-time scoring list.

The United States plays Panama on Thursday in Atlanta and finishes group play against Uruguay on July 1 in Kansas City, Missouri.