On Monday at Hard Rock Stadium, Argentina defeated Colombia 1-0 in overtime to win its 16th Copa America title. Lautaro Martinez scored the winner.
The win was the Argentine’s third straight major tournament title following their 2021 Copa victory and triumph in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
There were tears before the celebrations though with Argentina captain Lionel Messi going off injured in the 66th minute watching the rest of the game distraught on the bench, while there was an emotional farewell for Angel Di Maria in his final game for the national team.
For Colombia, whose only title came in the 2001 Copa America, it was a disappointing night when little seemed to work for Nestor Lorenzo’s team.
There was chaos around entry to the stadium for fans, with organizers blaming supporters for trying to enter without tickets while fans blamed the lack of an efficient entry system to the venue.
The scenes were alarming with some fans needing medical attention for heat exhaustion but after the decision to suddenly throw open the gates, with no checks on those entering, the situation was largely resolved and the game finally went ahead.
Colombia’s Jhon Corboba hit the bottom of the post with a speculative shot in the seventh minute but neither side was able to find their flow in the early stages.
Di Maria found Messi in the 20th minute with a low ball into the box and Messi’s left-foot shot was saved by Colombia keeper Camilo Vargas.
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