Argentina vs. Chile: 2016 Copa America Date, Time, TV Schedule and Live Stream
Chile begin their Copa America title defence against 2016 front-runners Argentina on Monday, and the challenge awaiting head coach Juan Antonio Pizzi at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, could define their tournament.
The Group D combatants begin their Copa Centenario campaigns on the United States' West Coast hoping to boost their respective title pushes, but both teams have big injury concerns heading into the opener.
Most notable among those for La Albiceleste is captain Lionel Messi, having suffered a knock in his side's recent friendly against Honduras ahead of this summer's centenary tournament.
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Meanwhile, Chile are hoping star midfielder Arturo Vidal will be fit to feature in their curtain-raiser, and Monday's clash is likely to be heavily influenced by which of the duo can prove his fitness level.
Read on for broadcast information ahead of Monday's meeting, complete with all the essential fixture information and a preview of the match's biggest headlines.
Date: Monday, June 6
Time: 10 p.m. ET/3 a.m. BST
Venue: Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California
TV Info: Fox Sports 1 (U.S.), Premier Sports (UK)
Live Stream: Fox Soccer 2GO (U.S.), FuboTV (Global)
Argentina Hanging on Messi Confirmation
The depth of manager Gerardo Martino's resources means Argentina will be considered a mammoth powerhouse with or without Messi's services, but the team will assuredly feel more confident with their ace present.
Veronica Brunati of Spanish newspaper Sport confirmed on Saturday the forward completed an individual training session after Rik Sharma provided quotes from Messi previously commenting on his injury to La Nacion:
Argentina defender Ramiro Funes Mori is eager to see his international captain return to the lineup in any regard and said in a press conference he'd take Messi as a team-mate even if he had just one leg to play on:
"If I was the coach I would put in Messi even if he could not run or was on one leg.
He is such an important player and you need to know how to manage him. He is the best in the world, and I would always pick him. With Lionel things are different. We know how important he is on the pitch -- he can dribble past three or four players, break their marking. We all know how he is.
"
Messi may not be as critical a character as some might suggest, however, given that Chile have been a shade of their former selves recently, having lost four of their last five games and failing to keep a clean sheet in 2016.
Gonzalo Higuain is in the form of his career after breaking the record for goals scored in a Serie A season with Napoli (36), while Angel Di Maria and Sergio Aguero will also need to step up in Messi's absence.
Chile Aiming to Repeat 2015 Final Result
After closing out the 2015 Copa America, where La Roja were crowned champions for the first time in the tournament's history, Chile and Argentina will take their turn in opening the competition 12 months on.
One of the tournament's most decorated teams (Argentina—14 titles) will take on a relative newcomer to the Copa America silverware hunt, and Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated expects it to be a barn-burner:
The fitness of Vidal is a major stumbling block for Chile, though, after he came off injured in last Thursday's 1-0 friendly defeat to Mexico, and South American football writer Tim Stillman noted the team is out of sorts:
Without their midfield general to hold the engine room, Pizzi could look to the likes of Francisco Silva, Erick Pulgar or Gary Medel as deep-lying options, but none poses the same threat as Vidal.
Chile are currently in a race to return to the form they enjoyed under Jorge Sampaoli, but Argentina will be considered favourites for revenge after last year's final defeat.
