The Argentina national soccer team, led by the “God of Soccer” Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), won its second consecutive Copa America title and 16th overall.
Argentina defeated Colombia 1-0 in extra time in the Copa America 2024 final at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida, U.S., on Friday (Sept. 15).
Argentina, who won back-to-back titles since the 2021 edition, lifted the trophy for the 16th time to overtake Uruguay (15) for the tournament’s all-time record. They also widened the gap on ‘rivals’ Brazil (9).
They also won both the 2021 and this year’s Copa America, and are set to top the table at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, making it three major tournaments in a row.
Outside of Argentina, Spain has won Euro 2008-2012 and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
After leading his country to the World Cup title in Qatar, Messi, who has been dubbed the “God of Soccer,” had a successful Last Dance. Messi, 37, had hinted ahead of the tournament that he might retire, saying “I don’t have a lot of time left to play”.
Meanwhile, Colombia, who had hoped to win the title for the first time in 23 years since 2001, fell short.
Their unbeaten streak in A-matches (matches between national teams) came to an end after 28 games (22 wins, 6 draws). Coincidentally, Colombia’s last loss prior to this game was against Argentina (0-1) in February 2022 in a World Cup qualifier in Qatar.
Facing strong forward pressure from Colombia in the first half, Argentina struggled to build up.
After being outshot 3-8 in the first half and 1-4 in shots on goal, Argentina didn’t have much of a chance in the second half.
Colombia also failed to capitalize on a hard-earned scoring opportunity.
In the ninth minute of the second half, John Cordoba (Krasnodar) headed a ball into the air from a corner kick, and Davinson Sanchez (Galatasaray), unmarked by a defender, headed it over the crossbar.
Argentina, who hadn’t had much control of the game, suffered a major blow when Messi, the center of their attack, went down.
Messi, who injured his left foot in a tackle by Santiago Arias (Bahia) in the final minute of the first half, went to the ground again in pain during a sprint 19 minutes into the second half.
This time, he didn’t play again and left the field. Heading to the bench, Messi watched the game in tears, unable to control his emotions.
Argentina finally rattled the Colombian net in the 30th minute to take the lead, only to be denied by an offside call as they moved into space.
Unable to find a winner in regulation time, the teams headed into extra time, where Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan) emerged as the hero for Argentina.
Seven minutes into the second half of extra time, Giovani Rosselso’s (Villarreal) picture-perfect through ball found Martinez in the back of the defense, and the striker stepped up to the plate and slotted home a cool right-footed finish to end a fierce contest.
The kickoff was delayed for more than an hour and 20 minutes.
According to the New York Times, thousands of unticketed Colombian fans attempted to enter the stadium en masse through the southwest entrance of Hard Rock Stadium, leading to physical confrontations with local police and security personnel.
In the process, even legitimately ticketed fans were trapped in the overcrowded crowd, and some fans fainted and were taken to the hospital, causing chaos and preventing the game from starting on time.
The Copa America, South American soccer’s premier competition, was organized this year by the Confederation of South American Football (CONMEBOL) and the Confederation of North American and Caribbean Association (CONCACAF), with 10 South American nations and six North American nations participating. 메이저사이트