Argentina’s long wait of 28 years finally came to an end when Angel Di Maria’s first-half strike was enough to beat hosts Brazil. America’s Cup The trophy at the iconic Maracan Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. It was a special night for their captain too Lionel Messi The 34-year-old finally broke his international trophy duck with Argentina after five tries. For Albiceleste, the win also ended Brazil’s unbeaten home record that spanned more than 2,500 days.
When the match ended, a tearful Messi was embraced by his former Barcelona teammate and Brazilian superstar neymar.
Neymar and Lionel Messi, who have won several trophies together in the four years they spent together at Barcelona. So, when the match ended and Neymar finally got a chance to meet Messi, they hugged each other for a long time while the two were seen exchanging words.
Prior to this, the Argentine captain had been lifted into the air three times by his teammates – a celebration often reserved for managers following an elusive victory.
After the match, Lionel Messi also made a video call with his family from the Maracana Stadium.
Messi finished the tournament’s joint top goalscorer with four goals and was named joint best player along with Neymar. However, it was a quiet game for them at the Maracan stadium and missed a golden opportunity to end the game with two minutes remaining.
Earlier, Di Maria justified his selection by scoring an opener in the middle of the first half, starting only for the second time in the Copa. Rennon Lodi failed to cut a length ball from Rodrigo de Paul and Di Maria caught a trapped Ederson.
Brazil built up the pressure in a thrilling second half but even with five strikers they could not match up against an Argentine defense guarded by the excellent Rodrigo de Paul. Richarlison scored for seven minutes in the second half and then two minutes later forced Emiliano Martínez for a good stop.
The win was Argentina’s 15th Copa America victory and means they are on a par with Uruguay as the all-time leading winners.
Their win extended their run of undefeated matches under Scoloni to 20 and handed Brazil their first competitive defeat since losing to Belgium in the quarter-finals of the 2018 World Cup.
(with Reuters input)
read all Breaking News, today’s fresh news and coronavirus news Here
.