Alexis Mac Allister bravely risks injury to help Argentina win Copa America opener

Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister put his body on the line for Argentina in its opening game of Copa America, and narrowly avoided injury.

Mac Allister beat Canada goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau to Lionel Messi's waited pass and managed to poke the ball to Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez, who fired into an empty net to open the scoring. Mac Allister stretched to reach the ball and managed to connect with his toe before being taken out by the goalkeeper, and stayed down.

His teammates ran over to celebrate with him as they acknowledged his effort in creating the goal, but the restart was delayed as Mac Allister needed a few minutes to get back on his feet. The midfielder managed to see out the remainder of the game as Argentina ended up winning 2-0 against Canada, with Lautaro Martinez scoring after 88 minutes to secure victory.

Mac Allister was part of the Argentina squad that won the World Cup in 2022 but had only just broken into the roster meaning he missed out on a Copa America medal in the 2021 win. The Liverpool midfielder has become a key member of Lionel Scaloni's team and has massively earned Messi's respect.

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After making his international debut in 2019, Mac Allister had to be patient when it came to being selected in major tournaments. He missed the cut when it came to Copa America 2021 when Messi finally won an international trophy with Argentina after years of pain.

Mac Allister broke through at Argentinos Juniors in 2016 as a 17-year-old and earned a move to Brighton three years later. The midfielder quickly became one of Brighton's best players and became an elite-level Premier League star, which was later pounced upon by Liverpool.

The 2022-23 season was Mac Allister's best in soccer, first winning the World Cup with Argentina before scoring 10 goals for Brighton in the Premier League. Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool had seen enough, and not only did the club spend $45 million on the midfielder, but he was rewarded with the No. 10 shirt last worn at Anfield by Sadio Mane.

Mac Allister has risen to new heights since playing for Liverpool and has become a household name around the globe. While he's earned more respect since joining the Reds, he's always been appreciated by Messi who defended him on international duty.

Following a three-year absence after making his international debut, Mac Allister was called up by Argentina at the start of 2022. Some of his teammates poked fun at him for being fair-haired, but Messi quickly stopped any teasing and sided with Mac Allister.

"I remember everyone called me ‘Colo’, which is ginger in Argentina," Mac Allister told The Athletic. "I don’t like it much and he (Messi) told the teammates that. He said, 'He doesn’t like to be called Colo, so don’t call him that!'"

Not only has Mac Allister already become a key player for Liverpool after just one season, but he's now earned total respect in the Argentina locker room. Mac Allister already has a World Cup medal and will be hoping to take a Copa America win back to Anfield this summer.