Messi Praises Di María Ahead of Copa América Final
Lionel Messi has expressed his hopes for his Argentina teammate Ángel Di María to end his international career with a goal in the Copa América final against Colombia on Sunday. The 36-year-old Di María has announced that he will retire from international football after the tournament.
Messi, who is the Argentina captain, has been impressed with Di María’s performances throughout his 15-year international career, which has yielded 31 goals in 144 appearances. "Who knows, maybe he’ll score another goal in the final like he did in all the previous ones he’s played in. It would be extraordinary," Messi said in an interview.
Di María has been a key player for Argentina, featuring in six Copa América tournaments and four World Cups. He was instrumental in Argentina’s 2008 Olympic gold medal win, scoring the winning goal against Nigeria.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni was non-committal about whether Di María would start against Colombia, saying that the decision would depend on what was best for the team. "We will always decide first what is best for the team. If he has to play it’s because he has to play, if we decide not to play him it’s because we think differently," Scaloni said.
Messi, who has battled a leg injury throughout the tournament, is hopeful that Di María will retire in style. "We always tell him that if everything goes well, we have playoff games coming up. Nevertheless, ‘Fideo’ has made up his mind and there’s nothing that can change it," Messi said.
The Copa América final is set to be a thrilling contest, with Argentina looking to win the trophy for the 15th time. The pressure is on Messi to perform, but he remains confident that his team will come out on top.
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