Posted on July 17, 2024
Lionel Messi raised his fists up. The boy shook the trophy energetically and it rose and fell in his hands. Cries of annoyance from an hour or so before had transformed into laughs and hugs for the Copa America centurion and World Cup winner.
Messi was substituted in the second half and extra time due to a leg injury thus barely participating in the latter part of the game. Nevertheless, Argentina clinched the Copa America title for the second time in a row; they defeated Colombia 1-0 in a penalty shootout on Sunday night with the only goal scored by Lautaro Martínez in the 112th minute.
“Leo is the greatest player in history,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said via a translator. “He never wants to come off. He has a swollen ankle and he wants to continue with the match I like such players he wants to play not because he has ego or is selfish, he wants to continue playing because he does not want to be off the pitch his teammates are still on . I think he was made for the pitch. ”
Messi seemed to injure himself through a contact-less move, he was running and fell in the 64th minute. The talking point is that though the latter is eight times Ballon d’Or winner, he could only sit, put his head in his hands, and cry.
Martínez later had to run to that bench to hug his 37-year-old captain after the goal that led the Argentina to the record 16 Copa title.
Appearing to be limping after the final whistle sounded well past midnight, Messi beckoned for his senior teammates to lift the trophy with him: 36 years old Nicolás Ottamendi and Ángel Di María, who is withdrawing from the national team. The finale was a showering of white confetti and the three embraced.
“Honestly, it is quite difficult to put it into words,” di Maria was quoted as saying. It was written like that I told the guys last night at dinner that I dreamt it That is why am saying that it was my last Copa America I dreamt we made it to the final and we won it so I could go out this way.
“I shall always be grateful to this generation which provided me all the support that I needed, which assisted me get what I had always desired and now, I am leaving like this,” added Di Maria. “As could be expected.”
The match began an hour and 22 minutes later due to the fans’ disturbances at the Hard Rock Stadium and became Argentina’s third triumph in the major tournament after winning the 2021 Copa America and the 2022 World Cup, while equalling Spain, which claimed the 2008 and 2012 European Championships from around the 2010 World Cup.
Argentina itself put an end to Colombia’s 28-match unbeaten run last seen in a 1-0 defeat to Argentina in World Cup qualifiers back in February 2022; the sole goal being scored by Martínez again.
Martínez came as a substitute at the 97 th min on Sunday and scored from Giovani Lo Celso’s precision pass after Leandro Paredes started a move with an excellent sliding tackle to rob a Colombian of the ball a few yards from the center circle. Then, Paredes transferred the ball with Martínez and by passing it to Lo Celso who next chipped a through pass as, Martínez ran by defender Carlos Cuesta.
Martínez chased the ball, controlled it to enter the foul area and hit a right-sided shot that went past the outstretched hands of diving Camilo Vargas for the 29th overall, and fifth in the competition, Colombian goal.
Many players of Colombia complained with cramping of muscles after the end of the match according to the Colombia coach Néstor Lorenzo. The weather conditions for this place were; the temperature was around 88 degrees and humidity was approximately 73 percent.
“I want to emphasize that it is not good to play a final It’s not easy to anyone” Lorenzo said interpreting himself. “Before the end of the season the played six matches in 21 days and this produced physical toll on them as they all left the pitch with cramps and with some of them having affected both legs They all left the pitch feeling the wear down and the tiredness.
Returning to Copa America for the last time if it’s his last appearance, Messi had only one goal against the Chile. He left the field in the 36th minute after his left ankle was trapped by Santiago Arias although, he resumed the match three minutes after.
Messi immediately looked at the bench when he went down on the field in the second half, and a signal that he had realized his tournament was done. He was seen walking off in his right boot, only for him to remove it and slam it in anger, he hobbled off and his ankle was visibly puffed up. He pointed his right foot and with his right foot uncovered, he raised his arms while teammates entered the field when Martínez scored.
The beginning was rescheduled from 8:00 p. m. EDT to 9:22 p. m. due to problems with restricting fans’ access to the stadium, including large groups trying to get to a location chosen to host one of the 2026 World Cups.
Shortly after Uruguayan players engaged in a clash with Colombian supporters in the wake of their semi-final match at the Charlotte in North Carolina, videos featuring fans scaling fences and railings to get into the championship match with tickets they did not have were recorded due to the inability of officials to account for spectators with ticket stubs.
After the incident, the management of Hard Rock Stadium came out to issue a statement in which they said the stadium is proud to host both national and international events successfully and safely all year round.
“We realize there are fans who had tickets and could not get into the stadium after the perimeter was closed,” the statement said. “We shall liaise with CONMEBOL to address the complaints Among the fans personally, there is only one principal; the well-being of every person within the stadium or everyone around us is paramount and the safety of the fans, as well as the staff, shall always come first’.
Although, Colombian was more proactive and challenged Argentinian’s goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez four times in the first half, Argentinian started to create seriours dangers in the second half of the match.
In the 75 th minute Nicolás Tagliafico who could have scored a goal was flagged off side. Substitutes of Messi included Nicolás González. was being threatened by Vargas at the 95th minute but it was prevented by the referee.
Many players slipped on the field in the second half of the Sunday’s game. I was soaked after the show by Colombian pop star Shakira during a halftime break that took longer after the grass was sprinkled with cleanness by the sprinklers.
A break that would have ordinarily last for fifteen minutes was extended to roughly twenty five minutes because of the performance at halftime.
Lorenzo had commented on the additional minutes before the final match and sanctions for coaches for late second-half returns to the pitch in other games that were conducted earlier. Sunday, he said continuity in halftime rules would be best to “protect the health and physical prowess of the players.”
James Rodriguez of Colombia was awarded the best player of the tournament with an assist record of six.