NEW DELHI:
Argentina
won a record 16th
Copa America
title on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium in Florida thanks to a goal from
Lautaro Martinez
in extra time as the team defeated
Colombia
1-0.
Martinez's fine finish, his fifth goal of the tournament, sealed an awful match that had been plagued by security and crowd problems, necessitating an 82-minute delay.
After winning the Copa in 2021 and the World Cup in Qatar in 2022, Argentina has have three major tournament titles in a row.
Before the festivities began, though, there were tears. In the 66th minute, Argentina's captain
Lionel Messi
was hurt and spent the remainder of the match in agony on the sidelines. In addition, Angel Di Maria had an emotional send-off in his last match as a member of the national team.
It was a dismal night for Colombia, whose lone championship came in the 2001 Copa America, as not much seemed to go right for Nestor Lorenzo's squad.
Fans accused the lack of an effective admission system for the turmoil surrounding stadium entry, while organizers blamed supporters for attempting to enter without tickets, as per AFP.
The circumstances were concerning, with some supporters in critical condition due to heat exhaustion; nonetheless, the crisis was mostly addressed and the game was eventually played on when it was decided to quickly fling open the gates without any security checks.
Jhon Corboba of Colombia had a speculative effort that went just wide of the post in the seventh minute, but neither team was able to establish any momentum early on.
In the 20th minute, Camilo Vargas of Colombia stopped Messi's left-footed attempt after Di Maria sent a low ball into the box.
Colombia appeared more energetic in the first half, and they had a chance in the 33rd minute when Jefferson Lerma attempted a low shot from 25 yards out, forcing Emiliano Martinez to make a diving stop.
When Messi dribbled to the byline in the 36th minute, Santiago Arias' sliding challenge, which was judged fair, stopped him, raising concerns and necessitated medical attention for the Argentine captain.
Messi then curled a free kick in from the left flank, but Nicolas Tagliafico's header missed the mark. Messi currently plays club football in Miami.
Colombian singer Shakira provided some entertainment for the crowd during the interval, but after that the first half had been lackluster and didn't get much better.
After Argentina failed to stop a corner kick from James Rodriguez, the ball looped to Davinson Sanchez, who was unable to stop his header from going over the bar.
When Di Maria made one of his signature runs in from the left, forcing Vargas to make a save, the Colombian goalkeeper turned the ball wide of the post. That was finally some of the expected quality.
Then, when Messi was running in midfield, he tumbled down without making contact with the ball. Clearly in pain, he left the game in the 66th minute to be replaced by Nicolas Gonzalez, dealing a serious blow to Argentina's chances.
Messi could not contain his emotions as he sat in tears on the sideline, suggesting that this may have been his final big event.
When Tagliafico found Gonzalez in the area, the Argentine fans thought they had won when Gonzalez beat Vargas with a low drive, but the shot was disallowed for offside.
After a flick from Jorge Carrascal, Miguel Borja had a half-chance in extra time, but a deserving winner sealed the victory.
With a well-timed tackle, Leandro Paredes won the ball for Argentina in midfield. Giovani Lo Celso then found Martinez, who was moving freely and confidently finished with a first-time pass that was ideal for him.
English (US) ·