Lionel Messi off to bright start in latest quest for glory

SIDESTEP: Canada keeper Maxime Crepeau is sent for a hot dog by Lionel Messi in Thursday night's Copa America clash in Atlanta. Pic: Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)

Lionel Messi's latest quest for international glory in the twilight of his career is off to a smooth start with Argentina's 2-0 win over Canada at the Copa America opening.

Despite winning accolades galore at club level from an early age, it took Messi until 34 to triumph with Argentina at a major international tournament, lifting first the 2021 Copa America then the 2022 World Cup.

Now, with fans wondering if this is his last dance on the big stage, Messi's Argentina are red hot favourites to win a successive Copa America.

The stage appears set for Messi, who turns 37 next week.

Perennial rivals Brazil are on a poor run of form while Argentina are brimming with talent all around, headlined by their captain, and the July 14 Copa final takes place in Florida where Messi is ending his career with Major League Soccer club Inter Miami.

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni expressed his unhappiness with the pitch at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium after the win, saying it was unsuitable for this level of competition.

The venue, which hosts matches for Major League Soccer's Atlanta United and the NFL's Atlanta Falcons, usually has an artificial pitch but a temporary grass surface was installed ahead of the tournament opener.

"The start looked like the match with Saudi Arabia, with the difference that we played on a more decent pitch that time," Scaloni told reporters. "With all due respect, thank goodness we won. Otherwise, it would have been a cheap excuse. We have known for seven months that we are going to play here and they changed the turf two days ago.

"It is not good for the show. It is not an excuse, the stadium is beautiful and with synthetic turf it must be spectacular, but with today's turf it is not suitable for this kind of players."

Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez echoed his manager's sentiments, telling TyC Sports: "Coming here against a strong Canada, with good forwards and on a field that is a disaster made it a little difficult for us.

"We have to improve in that aspect. Otherwise, the Copa America will always be at a lower level than the European Championship."

Thursday night's victory was not a vintage performance: the Argentine captain and talisman missed a couple of clear chances though he also had a hand in both goals.

"The important thing is that we started with a win," said Messi, whose team had started the last World Cup with a defeat by Saudi Arabia that was one of the all-time shocks.

"We struggled a bit in the first half and the pitch didn't help either," he added after his record 35th Copa America finals appearance. "We'll always give our best, sometimes playing better, sometimes worse, but always fighting our hardest."

It was Messi's perfectly weighted pass to Alexis Mac Allister that made Julian Alvarez's opener followed by another controlled through ball to assist Lautaro Martinez's second.

Messi could yet make the 2026 World Cup, depending on how his body holds up, but coach Lionel Scaloni has urged fans to stop speculating about that and just enjoy the moment.

"It doesn't make much sense to be thinking about when they are not here," he said of Messi and veteran striker Angel Di Maria. "Let's enjoy them now. Then we'll see what happens."

Argentina next face Chile and Peru in Group A of the U.S.-hosted tournament between 16 teams in the Americas.

With some, including French striker Kylian Mbappe, suggesting the Copa is inferior to the also ongoing European Championship, Messi noted that his tournament included teams with 10 World Cups between them: Brazil (5) Argentina (3), and Uruguay (2).

"There are a lot of world champions left out to say that it (the Euros) is the most difficult tournament," he said.