Argentina vs Colombia
Copa America 2019 (Group B)
Date: Saturday, 15 June 2019
Kick-off at 23:00 UK
Venue: Arena Fonte Nova (Salvador).
ARGENTINA
Argentina entered this competition which is still trying to recover from their poor performances at the 2018 World Cup and as a big sign that they are still not right, they have not appointed a permanent replacement for Jorge Sampaoli.
Lionel Scaloni will remain in temporary charge for the Copa America with this likely to be the last chance to prove he is worthy of the job, but he must try and get a star-studded line-up that performs better than they have in recent years.
After failing to appear for Argentina until March after their World Cup campaign disappointed them, Lionel Messi returned to the side and will seek to get his first senior title for his nation but the Argentine defense still looks a problem.
COLOMBIA
Columbia finished third in the last Copa America in 2016 after being knocked out by eventual winners Chile in the semi-final and heading for this year's edition behind some strong forms.
After being knocked out of the World Cup by England in the quarter-finals, Colombia have only lost one match since the defeat while they have won six of the eight matches.
After the World Cup has been injured and with the club's future still to be determined, James Rodriguez will be interested in guiding his team deep into this tournament with many of them resting on his shoulders as the best and most important player at Columbia.
Preview
While the return of Messi to the clear side provides unbearable star quality, Scaloni has not definitively determined a formation that will balance the brilliance of attacking with defense solidity.
The Albiceleste have failed to keep clean sheets in four World Cup matches last year - conceding more than two goals per game on average - and remain fragile if a recent 3-1 friendly defeat against Venezuela.
This is not a good sign for the match against the Colombian team blessed with attacking talents such as James Rodriguez, Radamel Falcao and Duvan Zapata in form.
Head To Head
Argentina are unbeaten in their last eight meetings with Colombia in all competitions, winning five consecutive matches that lasted until November 2007.
Indeed, Colombia have only scored once in eight matches, failing to find the back of the net in the last five editions of this fixture since 2011.
The last two Copa America meetings between the two sides have ended goalless, and Colombia have not won against Argentina in this competition since 1999.
Argentina 2-1 Colombia
This is arguably the tent bond throughout the Copa America group stage, but is likely to be a tight affair. Both parties have many attack weapons but questions are elsewhere, and it is one that can easily go. We only give excellence to Argentina because of the factor of Messi.
 Date: Saturday, 15 June 2019 Kick-off at 23:00 UK Venue: Arena Fonte Nova (Sal...){kind=link}