Despite Lionel Messi taking his talents to North America nearly a year ago, the soccer superstar still draws crowds wherever he goes.
That was the case in downtown Atlanta on Wednesday when Messi and Argentina’s national squad rolled in for the start of the 2024 Copa América.
Thousands of Argentina fans lined the streets for hours just to catch a glimpse of the 36-year-old and his teammates leaving for practice one day ahead of their opening match.
Incredible to see the buzz in a city when Lionel Messi and Argentina are set to play. Not much compares
Thousands of people decked out in #10 🇦🇷kits everywhere. People lining the block for a glimpse of the team. Singing in the streets
Shows what awaits the #CanMNT tomorrow pic.twitter.com/MD6JXS9iiz
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) June 20, 2024
Singing songs and waving flags, supporters of Los Albicestes made their presence known in one of the tournament’s main host cities.
Messi FC has taken over the downtown streets of Atlanta. Even Atlanta’s own fans don’t ever do this for their own teams. 😂💦
pic.twitter.com/2piUHPQgND— FCB Albiceleste (@FCBAlbiceleste) June 20, 2024
With the 2024 Copa América kicking off on Thursday, Messi and Argentina, who are coming off a World Cup win in 2022, look poised to secure another championship.
Their first test will come against Canada in a group-stage match in Atlanta tonight.
While the world’s No. 1 ranked squad is an easy favourite to win the game, Argentinian coach Lionel Scaloni will not be quick to undermine his Canadian opponents, who earlier this year secured their spot as one of six CONCACAF guest nations.
“Canada is a very good team. They have important players and a new coach who has brought in new ideas,” Scaloni said at a press conference earlier this week. “They are a complicated opponent, but we are prepared to play our game.”
Meanwhile, newly appointed Canadian coach Jesse Marsch is well aware of the challenge he and his players are up against.
“We obviously know the quality of their players. We’ve done a lot of preparation individually… We know we’re in for a really tough match, but we’re really excited for the challenge.”
Among the 16 nations in this year’s draw, Canada, which sits 48th on FIFA’s world ranking, has the 12th-best odds of winning the event with a 1.1% chance (as per Forbes Betting).
Argentina has the best odds (36.3%) of repeating their 2021 result.
Kickoff at Mercedes-Benz Stadium is set for 8 pm ET/5 pm PT. Fans in the Great White North can watch the game live on TSN1/4 and CTV2.