• Lionel Messi, centre, attends a training session at the Beira Rio stadium, in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on June 22, 2019, a day before facing Qatar in the 2019 Copa America. EPA
    Lionel Messi, centre, attends a training session at the Beira Rio stadium, in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on June 22, 2019, a day before facing Qatar in the 2019 Copa America. EPA
  • Argentina's Lionel Messi during training. Reuters
    Argentina's Lionel Messi during training. Reuters
  • Lionel Messi, second left, takes part in a training drill with his Argentina teammates. Reuters
    Lionel Messi, second left, takes part in a training drill with his Argentina teammates. Reuters
  • Lionel Messi 's Argentina are currently bottom of Group B with one match remaining. Reuters
    Lionel Messi 's Argentina are currently bottom of Group B with one match remaining. Reuters
  • Argentina's Lionel Messi during training. Reuters
    Argentina's Lionel Messi during training. Reuters
  • Argentina's Lionel Messi takes part in a training session in Porto Alegre. AFP
    Argentina's Lionel Messi takes part in a training session in Porto Alegre. AFP
  • Argentina's Lionel Messi speaks to a teammate during a training session. AFP
    Argentina's Lionel Messi speaks to a teammate during a training session. AFP
  • Argentina's Lionel Messi takes part in a running exercise during training. AFP
    Argentina's Lionel Messi takes part in a running exercise during training. AFP
  • Argentina's Lionel Messi during training. Reuters
    Argentina's Lionel Messi during training. Reuters
  • Argentina' captain Lionel Messi attends a training session at the Beira Rio stadium, in Porto Alegre. EPA
    Argentina' captain Lionel Messi attends a training session at the Beira Rio stadium, in Porto Alegre. EPA

Lionel Messi fits in final training session with Argentina ahead of decisive 2019 Copa America match - in pictures


Steve Luckings
  • English
  • Arabic

Lionel Messi and his Argentina teammates face a date with destiny in Brazil, knowing anything less than a comprehensive victory over Qatar could see them suffer an embarrassing group phase exit from the 2019 Copa America.

Argentina suffered a shock 2-0 defeat to Colombia in their first Group B match and were then held to a 1-1 draw by Paraguay in their second, with Messi failing to shine in both.

He was by no means alone in that regard; a squad boasting the likes of Sergio Aguero, Paulo Dybala and Angel Di Maria have all failed to shine at the Copa America so far.

A victory over tournament guests Qatar coupled with a defeat for Paraguay against already-qualified Colombia would see Argentina through automatically to the last eight.

If Paraguay get a result against Colombia, Argentina's only hope of reaching the knockout round will be as one of the two best third-placed teams, making a decisive victory over the Asian champions imperative.

For the best pictures from that training session, browse the photo gallery above. To move on to the next image, click on the arrows, or if using a mobile device simply swipe.