Argentina will take the field on June 23 against Qatar for their third and final Group-B match of the Copa America 2019, at Porto Alegre, Brazil. This will be the most important match for Argentina and Lionel Messi for their quest for an international trophy after 26 years. It is a do-or-die situation for Argentina as they cannot afford to lose. Messi's quest for international success will get a huge setback as the this will probably be the last Copa America for the ageing legend.
Argentina were held to a 1-1 draw by Paraguay at the Belo Horizonte on June 19. The match started with Argentina playing much better than what they performed against Colombia when they lost 2-0. But the shambolic midfield of Argentina could not supply balls to the strikers as a result of which they could not break the deadlock. Paraguay drew first blood as a poor Argentine defence could not match up with the pace of the Paraguayans.
Argentina levelled with a Messi penalty in the second half but could not win the match. La Albiceleste need to organise themselves otherwise they will have to face a shock exit from the group stage of the tournament only as they are placed at the bottom of the group. Lionel Messi needs to lead the team with much more urgency and senior players like Nicolas Otamendi and Angel Di Maria who are the underperforming need to be replaced. The caretaker coach should think about fielding Paulo Dybala from the start of the match.
On the other hand, Asian champions Qatar had a very decent tournament. They entered as minnows but the way they performed against both Paraguay and Colombia they showed that they can be the reason for a major upset. Coming into the match after getting defeated by Colombia, Qatar will try to add to the agony of the infuriated Argentine fans. They are placed third on the group table.
The other match of the day is between Colombia and Paraguay. Colombia has already qualified for the next stage while Paraguay will hope that Argentina loses and they win.
The Argentina-Qatar match will start at 4 pm on June 23 according to local time and 12.30 am, June 24 according to IST. The Colombia-Paraguay match will start at 4 pm on June 23 according to local time and 12.30 am, June 24 according to IST.
Global TV listings and Live stream
Telemundo: USA
Premier Sports 1: UK
Stream: Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, ESPN+, Premier Player
How to watch in India
There has been a huge disappointment for Indian football fans as the tournament will not be telecast in the country. Fans can watch the live stream by using free VPN services and download apk's like Navixsport. The application cannot be downloaded from any play store but it is available online for free. It can be downloaded by simply searching on Google. Two search results will come, one for Android and another for iOS. The viewers have to go inside the website according to their requirements, click on free download and enjoy the match.
