Lionel Messi pumped his arms. The trophy bounced up and down in his grasp. Tears of frustration from an hour or so earlier had turned to laughs and hugs for the two-time Copa America champion and FIFA World Cup winner.
Messi was forced to watch much of the second half and extra time because of a leg injury. Still, Argentina won their second straight Copa America championship, beating Colombia 1-0 on Sunday night on Lautaro Martinez’s 112th-minute goal.
“Leo is the greatest player in history,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said through an interpreter. “He never wants to leave the pitch. He has a swollen ankle and wants to keep playing. I prefer those players. He wants to play not because he is egotistical or selfish. He wants to keep playing because he doesn’t want to leave his teammates... He was born to be on the pitch.”
Photo: AFP
Messi appeared to sustain a non-contact injury while running and falling in the 64th minute. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner covered his face with his hands as he sat on the bench and sobbed.
Martinez later ran to that bench to hug his 37-year-old captain after the goal that propelled Argentina to their record 16th Copa America title.
After the final whistle sounded well past midnight, Messi beckoned for his senior teammates to lift the trophy with him: 36-year-old Nicolas Ottamendi and Angel Di Maria, who is retiring from the national team. As white confetti cascaded, the trio hugged.
“The truth is, it’s hard to describe,” Di Maria said. “It was written like that. I told the guys last night at dinner that I dreamed it. That’s why I said it was my last Copa America. I dreamed we made it to the final and we won it so I could go out this way.”
In a match that started one hour, 22 minutes late because of crowd trouble at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, Argentina won their third straight major title following the 2021 Copa America and 2022 FIFA World Cup and matched Spain, who won the 2008 and 2012 European Championships around the 2010 World Cup.
Argentina also stopped Colombia’s 28-game unbeaten streak dating to a 1-0 loss to Albiceleste in a February 2022 World Cup qualifier, also on a Martinez goal.
On Sunday, Martinez entered in the 97th minute and scored from Giovani lo Celso’s perfect pass after Leandro Paredes stripped the ball from a Colombian with a sliding tackle near the center stripe. Paredes exchanged passes with Martinez, then threaded the ball to Lo Celso, who one-timed a through-ball as Martinez sprinted past defender Carlos Cuesta.
Martinez ran onto the ball, took a touch that sent him into the penalty area and struck a right-foot shot through the upraised arms of sliding goalkeeper Camilo Vargas for his 29th international goal, his tournament-high fifth.
Colombia coach Nestor Lorenzo said many Colombia players finished with severe cramping. Temperatures reached 34°C with humidity was about 73 percent.
“It is not easy to play a final. It’s not easy for anyone,” Lorenzo said through an interpreter. “They played six matches in 21 days and started feeling the results. They all left feeling cramps, some of them in both legs. They all left the pitch feeling the wear down and the tiredness.”
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