Claudio Echeverri's first big challenge to get closer to Messi, the details of his debut in the Olympics

The summer competitions for the major international teams are over, but that means that the Summer Olympics will begin this week. The games will be played in Paris, France, this year, and the football tournament will begin July 24th, which is this Wednesday. The U-23 Argentina team will be making their debut on Wednesday against the U-23 Morocco team and one of the players that will be in the squad is Claudio Echeverri.

The attacking midfielder has already signed with Manchester City and will join the Premier League champions in January. The team will be coached by Argentina legend Javier Mascherano. He picked Echeverri to be part of the squad, and the coach also noticed that the young River Plate player is one of the youngest out of the whole squad.

Mascherano said, "We have Claudio [Echeverri] and Julio Soler, who are four or five years younger than most of this squad age group. It is important to see the documents and choose those who play well." Many Argentina fans believe this will be the right step to get recognition and have an impact on the national team, as Lionel Messi has done for so many years.

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Echeverri met Messi in the past, and they trained together in the Argentina national team's facility. Echeverri spoke about Messi and said, "The day I was with with the World Champions was something incredible, training with them is unforgettable."

"I fulfilled my dream to meet Messi, I still can’t believe. He means a lot. He’s an example for everyone and to know how good person he is made me happy.”

Argentina's U-23 team will play against Iraq's U-23 team this Saturday after the Morocco match in two days. Their last match of the group stage will be against Ukraine's U-23 team. Echeverri is expected to get minutes due to his quality, and he could make a name for himself, as he did in the U-17 World Cup last year. He caught the attention of many clubs, like Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, and Manchester City, when he scored a hat trick against Brazil.

Echeverri and Argentina U-17 team placed fourth in the competition. The top goalscorer was Agustin Ruberto from the Argentina team, and the second top goalscorer was Claudio Echeverri. He scored five goals in six games of that tournament. He was at River Plate, where he recently debut for River and signed his first professional contract.

The South American young star has called international attention. Not only because his recent transfer to Man City, but also because of his style of play, that remembers many to Messi.

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Claudio Echeverri training with World Cup Champions

Echeverri can play in the Olympics due to his age, but three players from the major Argentina national team were called up for the Paris Games this summer. Those three players won the World Cup in 2022 in Qatar with the Argentina national team. Those players are Julian Alvarez, Nicolas Otamendi, and Geronimo Rulli.