Buenos Aires, May 17 (AP) Defending champion Argentina will prepare for the upcoming Copa America tournament by playing warm-up matches against Ecuador and Guatemala next month in the United States. Lionel Messi and his Argentina teammates will face Ecuador at Soldier Field in Chicago on June 9, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) said on Thursday. Cristiano Ronaldo Overtakes Lionel Messi To Be Named Forbes’ Highest-Paid Athlete For Fourth Time.

Five days later, the reigning World Cup champions will play Guatemala at Commanders Field in Landover, Maryland. That will be Argentina's last warm-up game before it opens its Copa América campaign on June 20 against Canada in Atlanta. Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni will have to submit his final 26-man roster for the tournament on June 12. MLS 2024: Inter Miami’s Five-Game Winning Streak Ends After Scoreless Draw Against Orlando City.

Scaloni is leaning toward selecting most of the players that won the country's third World Cup title in Qatar in 2022. Argentina will be in Group A, which also includes Chile and Peru. AP

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)