Sports

Copa America Semi-Finals: USA Confident Ahead Clash Against Argentina Despite Key Players Suspended, Messi Proves To Be Man To Watch Out For

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U.S. men's national football team is confident ahead their clash against Argentina in the semi-finals of the Copa America.

U.S. players would have a massive task at hand as they would go on to the pitch without several key players due to suspension. Argentina would come in as favorites, with the men in blue and whites have Lionel Messi on their side, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Argentina's men are looking poised to be in a scoring frenzy, as USA would have to face La Albiceleste without majority of its key players. USA would need to play a new set of midfield players. Jermaine Jones, Alejandro Bedoya, as well as Bobby Wood would have to sit the semi-finals out due to suspension.

Despite the odds against the US national football team, head coach Jurgen Klinsmann is adamant that their side would still keep the Argentinians at bay.

Argentina's football team is on a scoring run as they have progressed through the group stages of the Copa America, as well as the quarter-finals with a 12-goal difference; only conceding 2 for their past 4 games, according to ESPN.

The US national team would have to stop Argentina's key man, Messi, to be able to stand even the slightest chance, as the statistics have shown. And even with Messi's absence, Argentina have in their lineup some of the world's top attacking players with Gonzalo Higuaín, Sergio Agüero, and Ángel Di María.

Added to the list of Klinsmann's worries are Argentina's defensive force in the form of Marcos Rojo, Javier Mascherano, Nicolás Otamendi, to name a few.

On a positive note, the U.S. national football team have proven to be capable of overcoming seemingly massive obstacles as they have almost managed to beat Portugal during the 2014 World Cup, although the Portuguese managed to squeeze in an equalizer at the dying minutes, ending the game in a draw, according to The New York Times.

The Copa America semi-final clash between USA and Argentina is set to take place at the NRG Stadium in Houston on Tuesday night at 9pm ET.

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