Argentina beat Colombia 1-0 to win Copa America

At Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday, Argentina defeated Colombia 1-0 to win a record 16th Copa America championship thanks to a goal by Lautaro Martinez in extra time.

Martinez scored his fifth goal of the tournament with a superb finish to salvage a bad game that had been plagued by security and crowd problems, necessitating an 82-minute stoppage.

After winning the Copa in 2021 and the World Cup in Qatar in 2022, Argentina has have three major tournament titles in a row.

Before the festivities began, though, there were tears. Argentina's captain Lionel Messi was hurt in the 66th minute and spent the remainder of the match inconsolable on the sidelines. Angel Di Maria also had an emotional sendoff in his last 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.
Fans condemned the lack of an effective admission system for the turmoil surrounding stadium entry, while organisers blamed supporters for attempting to enter without tickets.

The circumstances were concerning, with some supporters in critical condition due to heat exhaustion; nonetheless, the crisis was mostly addressed and the game was eventually played on when it was decided to quickly fling open the gates without any security checks.
Jhon Corboba of Colombia had a speculative effort that went just wide of the post in the seventh minute, but neither team was able to establish a rhythm early on.

In the 20th minute, Di Maria found Messi with a low ball into the box; Messi's left-footed attempt was stopped by Colombia keeper Camilo Vargas.
Colombia appeared more energetic in the first half, and they had a chance in the 33rd minute when Jefferson Lerma attempted a low shot from 25 yards out, forcing Emiliano Martinez to make a diving stop.

When Messi dribbled to the byline in the 36th minute, Santiago Arias' sliding challenge, which was judged fair, stopped him, raising concerns and necessitated medical attention for the Argentine captain.

Messi then curled a free kick in from the left flank, but Nicolas Tagliafico's header missed the mark. Messi currently plays club football in Miami.

The first half had been underwhelming, and after the break—during which at least Colombian singer Shakira provided some entertainment for the fans—things didn't get much better.

After Argentina failed to stop a corner kick from James Rodriguez, the ball looped to Davinson Sanchez, who was unable to stop his header from going over the bar.

When Di Maria made one of his signature runs in from the left, forcing Vargas to make a save, the Colombian custodian turned the ball wide of the post. That was finally some of the expected quality.

Then, as Messi was running in midfield, he went down without making touch with the ball. Clearly in pain, he left to be replaced by Nicolas Gonzalez in the 66th minute.
Messi could not contain his emotions as he sat in tears on the sideline, suggesting that this may have been his final big event.

When Tagliafico found Gonzalez in the area, the Argentine fans thought they had won when Gonzalez beat Vargas with a low drive, but the shot was disallowed for offside.

After a flick from Jorge Carrascal, Miguel Borja had a half-chance in extra time, but a deserving winner sealed the victory.

With a well-timed tackle, Leandro Paredes won the ball for Argentina in midfield. Giovani Lo Celso then found Martinez, who was moving freely and confidently finished with a first-time pass that was ideal for him.