Lionel Messi scored twice in Argentina’s 4-1 win over Guatemala on Friday(Getty)
Lionel Messi believes Valentin Carboni will be one of Argentina’s future stars and claims the midfielder already has ‘barbaric quality’.
Messi scored twice in Argentina’s 4-1 victory against Guatemala on Friday evening, which is their final warm-up game before their Copa America campaign begins this month.
Carboni, meanwhile, was given his senior debut for Argentina in the 3-1 win over Costa Rica in March but the 19-year-old was handed his first start for the national side on Friday and was one of the team’s standout performers on the right wing.
Carboni was signed by Inter in 2020 and has just spent the season on loan at fellow Serie A side Monza.
He is now pushing to secure a place in Argentina’s final squad for the Copa America, with the reigning World Cup champions kicking off Group A against Canada on June 21.
‘He [Carboni] has a great future, present and future, we must take advantage of it as well as many boys who come with great strength,’ Messi told TyC Sports.
‘Since we arrived in the United States that he has been training with us, we had seen him in the Under-20s but he grew a lot – he is a different player, much more trained and with barbaric quality.’
Valentin Carboni impressed in his first senior start for Argentina (Getty)
Argentina striker Lautaro Martinez, who has played alongside Carboni at Inter, echoed Messi’s praise.
‘I know him from Inter, he has trained with us for two years, he has shown all the quality of the player that he is,’ Martinez said.
‘Obviously he is young, he is 19 years old, it is important for him to add these minutes, for the coaching staff to give him that confidence, for us to support him. He has to continue learning but he has plenty of potential.’
Meanwhile, Argentina head coach, Lionel Scaloni, suggested Carboni remains in his thoughts as he prepares to name his final squad for the Copa America.
‘I expected that from Carboni, he is a young boy, with a lot of potential,’ Scaloni said.
‘He played a good game, which was difficult for him due to the context. We are happy with his game and it is evident that he is a boy who can contribute to us. We will see if he comes or not in the end [to the Copa America].’
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