Copa America 2024: What is Lionel Messi's record against Chile?

Argentina lost two consecutive Copa America finals against Chile in 2015 and 2016

After a hard-fought 2-0 win against Canada in the 2024 Copa America curtain-raiser, Lionel Messi and Argentina turn their attention to Chile, who are coming off a goalless draw against Peru in their first match.

Argentina had to dig in deep to get a result against a resilient Canada, as two second-half goals from Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez sealed the tie for La Albiceleste as they went to the top of the Group A table.

In terms of performance, captain Lionel Messi was unable to get on the scoresheet, but his strong display was capped by a delightful assist to Lautaro Martinez for Argentina’s second goal.

Lionel Messi’s record against Chile

In his entire international career, Messi has amassed a staggering 108 goals in 183 caps for Argentina, but surprisingly enough, the 37-year-old Inter Miami forward has only managed to score a mere 5 goals against Chile in that time period.

Historically, Lionel Messi has not boasted the best record against Chile in the Copa America recently. He was subjected to two high-profile losses against Chile, both of which occurred in consecutive finals.

The 2022 World Champions lost back-to-back Copa America finals to Chile in 2015 and 2016, with the latter being played in the United States too, just like the 2024 Copa America edition.

The manner of defeats in both finals were heartbreakingly similar for Messi’s side, as they lost both matches in penalty shootouts after the games had ended 0-0 at the end of extra time.

During the 2016 final, Lionel Messi uncharacteristically missed his spot kick, a match that took place at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, which coincidentally happens to be the venue for their 2024 Copa America meeting too.

During that phase, Messi was going through his hardest time in an Argentina shirt, as prior to losing both the Copa America finals to Chile, Argentina had also lost the 2014 World Cup final to Germany.

Despite these major setbacks, Messi and Argentina, under coach Lionel Scaloni, brought La Albiceleste back to the top of international football with the 2021 Copa America title and the 2022 World Cup triumph.

Lionel Messi will be fired up to finally take his revenge against Chile in this coveted tournament and also qualify Argentina for the knockout rounds of the 2024 Copa America in the process.

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