Preview
Argentina will take on a familiar foe in Chile to kickstart their Copa America campaign on Monday. Just as it has been the case in every competition they have featured in, La Albiceleste will fancy their chances of tasting glory despite their shortcomings in recent years. The generation led by Lionel Messi is slowly fading out and, as a result, they will be eager to finally make a mark and secure one of the two major international trophies that have evaded the Barcelona legend.
The meeting with Chile is one they may have anticipated for the past five years considering how much of a thorn La Roja have been in the side of the Argentine. It is simply a revenge mission for the 14-time Copa America winners, having been defeated via penalty shootouts in two of the last three finals of the competition to the latter. The agonizing defeat in the 2015 and 2016 finals can still be felt by Messi and his cohorts, and they are more than willing to brush their tormentors aside early to avoid being dealt a third blow.
Argentina will approach the upcoming fixture as firm favorites of Group B with Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia also in the mix. Preparations for the summer's tournament was not as smooth and straightforward as many may have anticipated. The recent CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers doubled up as sparring sessions for Coach Lionel Scaloni's side but they ended up picking up successive draws - one against Chile and the other against Colombia.
So far, La Albiceleste is unbeaten in their last 14 appearances, winning just six and drawing the remaining eight games. Needless to say, the head to head record is highly in favor of the Argentine outfit who is yet to lose a single game in 28 Copa America meetings with Chile. They have won 20 games while drawing eight (8) times. Interestingly, Chile has never won against Argentina within 90 minutes of play.
Regardless, they will still be eager to defy the bookie's predictions by securing a good result to extend the unbeaten run against the two-time world champions that has existed since 2015. Chile themselves have struggled for form but will remain optimistic in their pursuit for a ticket to enable them to secure a ticket to qualify for the knockout round.
In almost two years, they have recorded just three wins across the 14 games played within that period, losing as many as five and drawing the remaining six matches.
Team news
Argentine will test their luck against Chile without the service of Aston Villa attacker Emiliano Buendia and highly-rated Sevilla forward Lucas Ocampos. On the other hand, Chile will have all their top guns available for selection in the keenly anticipated clash.
Predicted starting XI
Argentina: Martinez; Montiel, Romero, Otamendi, Acuna; Lo Celso, Paredes, De Paul; Messi, Martinez, Di Maria
Chile: Bravo; Isla, Medel, Maripan, Mena; Pulgar, Vidal, Aranguiz, Meneses; Vargas, Sanchez.
Broadcast information
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United Kingdom: BBC Sport Web, BBC iPlayer
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United States: TUDN App, Foxsports.com, FOX Sports App, Fox Sports 1, TUDN.com, TUDN USA, FOX Deportes, Univision, Univision NOW
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Spain: tvG2
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Chile: Estadio TNT Sports, TNT Sports Go, Canal 13, DIRECTV Sports Chile, 13.cl, DIRECTV Play Deportes
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Argentina: DIRECTV Sports Argentina, Canal 7 TV Publica, DIRECTV Play Deportes, TyC Sports Play.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
