Defending champions Argentina won a record 16th Copa America title by beating Colombia 1-0, thanks to an extra-time goal from substitute Lautaro Martinez at the Hard Rock Stadium in Florida on Sunday.
The game, which was delayed by more than an hour after thousands of fans without tickets tried to enter the stadium, was a cagey affair over 90 minutes but opened up in the extra period.
Martinez, the tournament’s leading scorer, latched onto a precise through ball from Giovani Lo Celso before lifting his effort over advancing Colombia goalkeeper Camilo Vargas in the 112th minute to spark wild celebrations among Argentina fans.
Argentina’s latest title comes on the back of their triumphs at the 2022 World Cup and 2021 Copa America, and gives eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi the perfect sendoff if this turns out to be his last international tournament.
The win also marked Angel di Maria’s final Argentina match after the 36-year-old said last year he would retire from international football after the Copa, while defender Nicolas Otamendi, 36, is also set to end his international career.
“The truth is, this was written, it was this way,” Di Maria said. “I dreamed it, I dreamed that I would arrive to the final and win it and retire in this way. I have so many beautiful feelings and I am eternally grateful to this generation and today I am leaving in this way with a title.”
Colombia started the match by pressing high up the pitch and Jhon Cordoba hit the post in the seventh minute before Jefferson Lerma and Richard Rios had long-range efforts saved by Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
Messi appeared to hurt his ankle in the 36th minute after a collision with Santiago Arias and while he got back to his feet after receiving treatment, he was clearly hampered for the remainder of the half.
Colombia went on the offensive again in the second half with Arias and Davinson Sanchez coming close to scoring.
Argentina soaked up the pressure well but were dealt a blow in the 66th minute when Messi limped off due to the ankle injury.
“Messi had to leave because of that ankle problem but finally we were able to give him some joy,” added Di Maria, who jointly lifted the trophy alongside captain Messi and Otamendi at the presentation ceremony.
They continued to grow into the contest and had a goal disallowed for offside but Colombia held on as the match went to extra time.
The defending champions continued to push forward in extra time, testing Vargas with a shot from Nico Gonzalez before Martinez finally found the breakthrough.
Victory, an escape
Argentines taking to the streets to revel in their Copa America triumph inhabit a very different place now than they did 19 months ago, when their World Cup win sent millions surging into the same Buenos Aires square in a howl of collective celebration.
“Glorious,” Diego Caceres, 38, recalled of Argentina’s massive open-air party on
December 18, 2022.
“This is beautiful, too,” he said of Sunday’s crowds cheering and setting off fireworks around the capital’s landmark obelisk.
Economic crisis has stalked Argentina for years. But today, annual inflation tops 270 per cent. Almost 60 per cent of the country’s 45 million people live in poverty.
The last time Caceres celebrated his national team in this downtown square, he
worked as a cook in various restaurants and rented an apartment. Today, he said,
he’s unemployed and sleeps on the streets.
But Argentines say that they needed this tournament, and this trophy, more than they could have imagined. For Argentina, South America’s biggest football championship offered not just glorious achievement but exquisite, if fleeting, escape.
