CORDOBA, Argentina -- Argentina interim coach Lionel Scaloni is confident that Lionel Messi's absence from La Albiceleste since the World Cup is only temporary, but hasn't talked about the subject to the Barcelona forward.
"I've not spoken with him about whether he's coming to the Copa America," Scaloni told a news conference in Buenos Aires ahead of Friday's friendly in Cordoba against Mexico. "We talk about specific things, topics regarding the team.
"I [believe] that he will return to the national team, but it isn't a topic we have touched on and that we are thinking about."
Messi's relationship with the Argentina national team has been rocky in recent years, with the 31-year-old temporarily retiring after the 2016 Copa America, only to return in June 2017. He scored one goal at the World Cup as Argentina lost to eventual champions France in the round of 16.
Argentina legend Diego Maradona has urged Messi to leave the national team, although the president of the Argentine federation Claudio Tapia has also expressed his confidence that the Rosario native will be back.
With reports again linking former Argentina coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino to Mexico, Scaloni faced questions about his future and the possibility of him continuing with Argentina to next summer's Copa America, but the coach stated that he is concentrating on leading the country's under-20s team at the South American Championship in January.
Argentina face Mexico on Friday in Estadio Mario Kempes in Cordoba and the 40-year-old gave out the likely starting XI, in which Juventus' Paulo Dybala and Inter Milan's Mauro Icardi are both included.
The teams will play a second friendly next Tuesday in Mendoza.