Lionel Messi’s Argentina won the Copa America by defeating Colombia (1-0, after extra time) on Sunday in Miami (Florida, USA), thanks to a goal by Lautaro Martinez.
Lionel Messi left the game injured in the 66th minute and couldn’t hold back his tears on the bench, but he smiled again after his team’s victory.
The match started over an hour late due to incidents outside the stadium.
« We experienced several incidents at the Hard Rock Stadium before opening the doors for the final. These incidents resulted from the unruly behavior of fans trying to enter the stadium (…) we enforce a zero-tolerance policy towards indiscipline, » said Miami-Dade County Police in a statement.
Major incidents occurred two hours before the game started when hundreds of fans, mainly Colombians, tried to enter the stadium without tickets, explained the organizers.
Farewell to Di Maria While Messi remains vague about his future, though he hasn’t ruled out continuing with the national team until the 2026 World Cup, his compatriot Angel Di Maria, who also left in tears in the 117th minute, knows this is his last cap.
« I had dreamed of reaching the final and winning it, then stopping this way, » commented the former PSG player.
The Argentinians had taken the lead a few minutes earlier: Giovani Lo Celso, from a pass by Leandro Paredes, sent Lautaro Martinez deep for a winning shot from the right side of the box. The three key players in the action had come on as substitutes.
The victory was celebrated by thousands of Argentinians gathered at the Obelisk in Buenos Aires. The pre-match was also marked by the death of a 29-year-old fan who fell while trying to climb a structure in front of the Obelisk to wave a flag.
