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Lionel Messi will lead a 28-man Argentina squad for the upcoming Copa America in Brazil. Other notable inclusions in Lionel Scaloni's squad include new Barcelona striker Sergio Aguero and PSG winger Angel di Maria.
Superstar Lionel Messi will be hoping to lead Argentina to their first Copa America title since 1993, which also happens to be their last major tournament win, excluding the 2008 Olympic Gold Medal.
However, there have been a number of notable absentees from Lionel Scaloni's squad for the Copa America. Sevilla's Lucas Ocampos is the most shocking exclusion from the squad, having played for the national team just a week ago against Chile in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
In his place, Scaloni has decided to go for the likes of Lautaro Martinez, Lionel Messi, Joaquin Correa, Angel di Maria, Sergio Aguero and Lucas Alario as his attacking options.
Apart from Ocampos, Villarreal's Juan Foyth is also unlucky to miss out on the final squad for the Copa America despite playing the World Cup Qualifiers. The Europa League winner did not have the best game against Colombia in the Qualifiers. Foyth was directly responsible for the the last Colombia equalizer, denying Argentina all three points.
2021 Copa America might be Lionel Messi's final chance to lift an international trophy
Lionel Messi has twice come close to lifting the Copa America in his glittering career. Despite dragging Argentina to the final in 2015 and 2016, the 33-year-old saw his side lose twice to Chile, even missing a penalty in the 2016 final.
2021 might be Lionel Messi's last chance to help Argentina win the Copa America. After the 2021 tournament, the next Copa America is scheduled to take place in 2024, which is a long way away.
Lionel Messi has indicated that he will be playing in the 2022 World Cup but his international future after the tournament in Qatar seems to be unclear, giving the six-time Ballon d'Or winner possibly the final opportunity to lift the Copa America trophy in his career.
The 2021 Copa America will see Argentina compete against the likes of Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay in Group A. Argentina will kick off their tournament against rivals Chile in Rio de Janeiro on 14th of June 2021.
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