Argentina secured their first Copa since 1993 after beating Brazil 1-0 at the Maracan Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday night and gave captain Lionel a chance. Messi A long-distinguished first medal to join his many accolades with the national team barcelona.
It was a tough match, with 41 fouls, nine yellow cards, and Argentina spent most of their first half lead defending their first half with a goal from Angel Di Maria in the second half.
Yet the details were insignificant to the hundreds of thousands of people celebrating across Argentina. All that mattered was that the long and painful drought was over.
“I was very close (to win a title) for many years. I knew it was going to be right at some point, and I think there is no better moment than this,” said an excited Messi, who was desperate. tha world cup winner to emulate Diego MaradonaInternational success with Argentina.
“We still don’t know what we did, but it will be a match that will go down in history not only for America being the champion, but also for beating Brazil in Brazil,” said tournament joint player Messi.
Copa America: Messi wins first major title with Argentina
Messi will turn 35 when the World Cup starts in Qatar next year. But he’s surrounded by young players Rodrigo De Paul Excellent in the final and others such as defender Christian Romero, shooter Lautaro Martínez and goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez early in their international careers.
What Argentina has to challenge outside Latin America and win a third World Cup is an open question.
They have been dominant but unpredictable in the qualifiers and are six points behind Brazil after six matches.
How they might fare against major European countries is a secret. South American sides have found it nearly impossible to test themselves against top European nations over the years because League of Nations The timetable has been squeezed.
Watch: Fans celebrate Argentina’s Copa America win in Kerala
‘We are the winners’
Brazil’s former World Cup winner Tostao said Argentina has made progress since the 2018 World Cup – where eventual winners France beat them 4-3 in the last 16 at both the individual and collective levels.
But Brazil was still strong despite the Copa defeat, he said. “Brazil is at the level of strong European sides. Argentina need to improve a bit to reach the same level as Brazil and have the potential to win the World Cup.”
difference in quality between Euros And as the Copa America was clear over the past four weeks, the South American game was noticeably slower, more shortened – and dirtier.
Each game in the Copa averaged 27.5 fouls, four more than in the Euros where extra time was included in the count. There were also 4.3 yellow cards per game in the Copa, compared to 2.9 per game in the Euro.
According to statistics from the Spanish newspaper AS, Argentina has committed more fouls than any other Colombian team bar.
Countering the excitement in Argentina, Brazil coach Tite criticized their gameplan in the final, saying they were prepared to play “anti-football” on grounds of foul play and wasting time.
But the Argentinian spirit didn’t budge.
As he watched overcrowded scenes of fans arriving at the team’s coach’s home, a TV presenter summed up the national mood: “We’re the champions, we’re excited and we’re enjoying it.”
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