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Copa America kicks off later today (or early tomorrow morning UK time) when tournament holders Argentina take on Canada.
This is the 48th edition of the tournament and it is being held in the United States, in preparation for the World Cup in 2026 in the same country.
In the last tournament in 2021, Argentina beat Brazil 1-0 in the final in Rio de Janeiro through a goal by former Manchester United winger Angel Di Maria.
The Red Devils will have three representatives this time around and all three will believe they have a strong chance of delivering the trophy to their respective nation.
Lisandro Martinez will be hoping to repeat the success of his involvement in the 2022 World Cup win for Argentina.
The centre back has had an horrific season in terms of injuries but he was able to come back for the final few matches of the season and he played an integral part in United’s cup final win over Manchester City at Wembley.
The centre back has started both of La Albiceleste’s warm-up games playing well in both in spite of an own-goal against Guatemala last time out.
The defender has already stated that he “feels great” and that he is ready to help his nation win back-to-back Copa Americas.
Another member of Argentina’s group is United youngster, Alejandro Garnacho.
The 19 year old has enjoyed a whirlwind 18 months where he has transformed himself from a pacy bench option to one of the club’s biggest attacking outlets. Garnacho finished the season with 10 goals including the opener in the FA Cup final against City.
He has not been able to get on the pitch in either of the two warm-up matches but he will be desperate to get a chance once the real tournament kicks off, even if it is from the bench.
Argentina’s coach Lionel Scaloni has commented on his use of Garnacho and claimed, “he is a boy in whom we have a lot of expectations. We have to carry him in the way we believe with the entire coaching staff, talking to him and insisting that there are things he has to do more often.”
“He has one against one, he is fast and that is what he has to do more often. That’s what we try to talk to him about doing.”
The final United player aiming to make an impact is Facundo Pellistri for Uruguay.
Despite being the least used player at United out of the three, the winger is likely to play the most minutes out of any Red Devil as he is the only player who is a bona fide starter for his national team.
The 22 year old struggled for gametime in the first half of the season, so went on loan to Granada in Spain where he played much more regularly.
He also impressed in the warm-up matches as he scored his first goal for his country in a 4-0 win over Mexico.
Pellistri’s future at United is far from certain, with Brazilian duo Flamengo and Corinthians both linked to the player lately.
Therefore, he will not only be aiming to deliver Uruguay’s first tournament win since 2011 but also put himself in the shop window.
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