Out-battling Chile in a reckless physical game, Argentina became the first team to book a berth in the 2024 Copa America knockout stage. The tough physical nature of the game made it more entertaining, despite ending with a 1-0 scoreline. After the contest, former USMNT star Alexi Lalas lauded Lionel Messi and others for ‘taking hits’ and appropriately giving them back to Chile stars, as Argentina thrived at the end. Besides, Lalas observed that the USMNT stars are not yet conversant with using the game’s physical nature to their best.

Speaking of Argentina’s win against Chile in the State of the Union podcast, host Alexi Lalas urged American players to develop a ‘street mentality,’ referring to the game’s physicality. “I hope that American players, whether they’re playing now or more importantly whether they’re coming up, will at least be able to see it and recognize that you need to have that as part of your game,” said Lalas.

He added, “Even the best players in the world, the best teams in the world, they have that proverbial dog. They have the ability to use that physical nature of the game.”

Thereafter, the former US international hinted that the physical gameplay in the Argentina-Chile tie erased the imbalances between both teams. As Lalas puts it, Lionel Messi’s side is way ahead in terms of quality compared to Chile. However, the latter challenged them physically, and when Argentina started giving back, the game became all the more entertaining.

While Lalas lavished praises on Messi for standing the ground during Chile’s recklessness, the Argentine skipper had a fair share of troubles because of their physicality.

Lionel Messi’s injury scare and outburst at referee becomes the talking point

In the 24th minute, Lionel Messi took an abrasive tackle to his thigh and went down immediately. The Inter Miami skipper has notably suffered from adductor problems and hamstring strains until recently. With Argentina qualified for the knockouts, this alarming tackle on the skipper might prompt Lionel Scaloni to analyze the former’s injury situation and even rest him for the final group game.

Chile reminded us of the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons team, which had the ‘Jordan Rules’ to restrict Michael Jordan from scoring physically.

Chile had the ‘Messi Rules’ instead.

At one point, La Pulga got fed up with taking rivals’ hits and lashed out at the match official for not penalizing Chile players for their physical gameplay. Anyhow, the Argentina skipper played the entire 90 minutes and proudly cruised into the knockouts. Argentina next plays Peru on June 29th to round off their group campaign.

Do you think Lalas was right to urge the USMNT to learn from Argentina? Tell us in the comments.