- The knockout stage of the world's oldest national teams tournament begins.
- Argentina awaits Lionel Messi. On Thursday, July 4th, a new stage of the 48th edition of the CONMEBOL Copa América™ begins: the knockout phase will be underway.
The first of the Quarterfinals matches will be between Argentina (1st in Group A with 9 points) and Ecuador (2nd in Group B with 4 points).
Argentina arrives in good form: they have the tournament's top scorer (Lautaro Martínez, with 4 goals), have not yet conceded any goals, and are seeking back-to-back championships. They await the return of Lionel Messi, who missed the match against Peru in the third round due to injury.
On Ecuador's side, they struggled until the end with Mexico in the third round and secured this spot with a draw. Moisés Caicedo is in great form, and Kendry Páez has shown the maturity to lead the team despite his young age.
Where to watch Argentina-Ecuador?
The match will start at 8 PM Quito time (Ecuador) and 10 PM Buenos Aires time (Argentina). It can be watched as follows:
- Argentina: TyCSports, Telefé, TV Pública, and DSports
- Ecuador: TV Ecuavisa, DirecTV
- United States: FS1, TUDN, Univision
Argentina-Ecuador: history
They have faced each other 16 times in the CONMEBOL Copa América™, and Ecuador has yet to win against Argentina. Only once in knockout rounds: in the 2021 Quarterfinals, with an Argentine victory by 3-0.
- 11 Wins Argentina
- 5 Draws
Key Facts
- Argentina has won its last eight matches across all competitions, matching the best winning streak under Lionel Scaloni. A win in the Quarterfinals against Ecuador will set a new record for La Albiceleste since their current coach debuted in September 2018.
- Lautaro Martínez has scored four goals in 2024 CONMEBOL Copa América™. Only two Argentine players have surpassed that number in a single tournament edition in the 21st century: Juan Román Riquelme in 2007 and Lionel Messi in 2016, both with five goals each.
- Kendry Páez of Ecuador had the most ball recoveries (19) and was the second-highest shooter (10, behind Salomón Rondón's 13) among all teams in Group B of 2024 CONMEBOL Copa América™.
- Emiliano Martínez did not concede any goals in the group stage of the CONMEBOL Copa América™. If he maintains a clean sheet in the Quarterfinals, he will match the four clean sheets he achieved in the last edition of the tournament in Brazil. Only one Argentine goalkeeper has kept four clean sheets in two different editions of the tournament: Sergio Romero in 2015 and 2016.
Source: OPTA
Possible lineups
Argentina: Emiliano Martínez; Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martínez, Nicolás Tagliafico; Rodrigo De Paul, Leandro Paredes or Enzo Fernández, Alexis Mac Allister; Lionel Messi or Ángel Di María, Julián Álvarez or Lautaro Martínez, and Nicolás González.
Coach: Lionel Scaloni
Ecuador: Alexander Domínguez; José Hurtado or Ángelo Preciado, Félix Torres, William Pacho Tenorio, Piero Hincapié; Alan Franco, Kendry Páez, Moisés Caicedo, Jeremy Caicedo; Carlos Gruezo or Kevin Rodríguez, and Enner Valencia.
Coach: Félix Sánchez
Referee Designation
- Referee: Andrés Matonte (URU)
- Assistant referees: Nicolás Tarán (URU) and Martín Soppi (URU)
- Fourth referee: Gustavo Tejera (URU)
- VAR: Leodán González (URU)
Match Information
- Match: Argentina-Ecuador (Match 25, Quarterfinals)
- Date and time: July 4, 2024, at 8 PM local time (8 PM Ecuador/10 PM Argentina)
- Stadium: NRG Stadium – Houston, Texas
