Fernando Romero Nuñez The Argentine men’s national team is king of the continent once again.
The Albiceleste beat Colombia 1-0 in the 2024 Copa América final and lifted its second consecutive continental title. In a hard-fought game, without its captain and leader Lionel Messi — who had to be subbed off with an injury — Lionel Scaloni’s team managed to win its fourth consecutive championship and record-breaking 16th Copa América.
With both teams set to attack from kick-off, Colombia seemed to have the upper hand in the first half. It controlled the ball on the offensive and pressed Argentina up high on the pitch when Scaloni’s team tried to attack. Midfielder and talismanic playmaker James Rodríguez unleashed the Cafeteros speedy strikers with a series of long passes from deep.
However, Argentina got the biggest chance to score in the first half when in the 19th minute a great passing move by the Albiceleste left Messi with the ball at his feet inside the box, but his shot deflected off teammate Julián Álvarez, allowing Colombian goalkeeper Camilo Vargas to pick up an easy save.
Argentines got a bad scare when, in the 36th minute, Messi rolled his right ankle as he tried to put in a cross. The Rosario native was seen limping around and seemed to struggle, but was able to continue playing.
The second half continued at a similar pace, but Argentina became the team in control. In the 57th minute, the Albiceleste had another big chance, as Di María slipped through with the ball on the left and put a low shot, forcing a difficult save from Vargas. The Argentine winger was one of the match’s best players, signing off from the national team on a high.
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In the 62nd minute, Messi’s battered physique finally managed to put a stop to his Copa América. Chasing his man on a Colombia counter, the forward dropped to the floor and quickly called for a substitution. Live footage later panned in on a highly swollen ankle from his earlier injury as he sat on the bench.
It was the first time the Argentine number 10 had been taken off any final he’d played, and the Argentine captain showed how much he cared, bursting into tears on the bench.
Thirteen minutes later, Scaloni’s team looked to take the lead as forward Nicolás González — who had substituted Messi — scored from a cross by fullback Nicolás Tagliafico, but it was disallowed for offside.
Despite Argentina continuing to have the best opportunities, neither team was able to break the deadlock and the final went into extra time.
The Albiceleste remained the better team at the start of extra time, with another big chance for González from a back pass by midfielder Rodrigo De Paul, as Vargas became Colombia’s best player.
In the second half of extra time, the goal finally opened for the Albiceleste. Midfielder Giovani Lo Celso found striker Lautaro Martínez in space and the tournament’s top goal scorer seized his one shot to take the lead and send Argentine fans into a frenzy.
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Ahead on the scoring board, Argentina went defensive, subbing in another defender Nicolás Otamendi, and allowing Di María to have his national team send-off cheered by every Argentine fan in the stadium. Colombia desperately pushed forward, crying wolf on any contact play inside the box, but it proved too little too late.
“I don’t know what to say in all honesty,” Di María told the press after the game. “As I told the guys, I feel it was written. I’ve dreamt about it, I’ve dreamt that we won and I retired like this.”
“I have a lot of beautiful feelings. I’m forever grateful to this group of guys, they allowed me to win everything I’ve ever dreamt of.”
Pre-game violence
The final was delayed by over an hour as fans without tickets for the game turned up at the gates and began to push their way into the stadium when security tried to turn them away. The influx of fans climbing fences led organizers to close the gates.
This caused massive pile-ups and repression by the police when desperate fans urged the authorities to enter to avoid being crushed. “It’s a disaster, we had to beg them to open the doors,” an Argentina fan told sports site Olé after the incident. “There were kids and elderly people and they told us to go back and join the queue, and there wasn’t one.”
The images of children crying and fans passing out due to the extreme heat in the pile-up went viral on social media as the appointed 9 p.m. kick-off time came and went.
The problem even affected the families of Argentine players, as Alejandro Garnacho’s father Roberto confirmed via X. “We’re with [Marcos] Acuña, outside, trying to get away from the fights. This is a real shame,” he wrote.
Following the initial chaos, the gates were open to allow all fans to enter the stadium, regardless of whether they had tickets. The Hard Rock Stadium giant screen warned fans that “the game won’t start until every fan without a ticket leaves.”
The game finally started at 9:20 p.m. local, 10:20 p.m. Argentina time.
