Lionel Messi is one win from leading Argentina to a record 16th Copa America title. Colombia will do everything in its power to make sure that doesn’t happen in a matchup that pits the juggernaut against the surging force in the final.
Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni is not expected to tinker too much with his starting XI. Shaping his team in the 4-4-2 setup, Nahuel Molina and Nicolas Tagliafico will play in the right-back and left-back positions, respectively. Cristian Romero and Lisando Martinez will be the centre-backs.
Rodrigo De Paul and Enzo Fernandez will start in the centre of midfield, with Angel Di Maria and Alexis Mac Allister operating from the flanks. Up front, either Julian Alvarez or Lautaro Martinez will start alongside Lionel Messi. But with Lautaro leading the scoring charts, he might just get the nod ahead of Alvarez in the final.
Nestor Lorenzo, too, is not likely to change too much with his winning combination.
Setting up his team in the 4-3-1-2 formation, Camilo Vargas will start at goal. Davidson Sanchez and Carlos Cuesta will play as the two centre-backs. Daniel Munoz would have been the automatic choice at right-back but his semifinal red card rules him out for the final, making Santiago Arias a likely candidate to fill that role. On the opposite side, Johan Mojica will be a familiar face in the left-back position.
Ricardo Rios and Jefferson Lerma will play as the two holding midfielders. James Rodriguez will play in his preferred No. 10 role, with Luis Diaz on his left and Jhon Arias on his right. Jhon Cordoba will be the lone striker and will play the No. 9 role, although Diaz usually tends him to join and both play as a front two.
Argentina vs Colombia predicted lineups
Argentina (4-4-2): E. Martinez (GK); Tagliafico, L. Martinez, Romero, Molina; Mac Allister, Enzo, De Paul, Di Maria; L. Martinez, Messi (C)
Colombia (4-2-3-1): Vargas (GK); Mojica, Sanchez, Cuesta, S. Arias; Rios, Lerma; Diaz, James (C), J. Rias; Cordoba
