On a historic day in Miami, Argentina beat Colombia 1-0 to win their second consecutive Copa America title, retaining the title for the 2024 edition, which saw a chaotic final due to the events of the previous match at Hard Rock Stadium.
The match started after an hour and 20 minutes of regular time, due to a human stampede that entered the stadium and made it difficult to enter, which also led to health problems for many people.
Many fans who had purchased tickets were left without a seat, demonstrating the utter failure of organising a disastrous tournament on the balance, which included many controversies.
As the football kicked off, Lionel Scaloni’s Albiceleste immediately took control of the game.
Colombia had two great chances that they couldn’t finish. Moreover, the defense across the Andes was superb in every way. Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martinez saved their team more than once at the last minute, slowing down the pace at the start to calm down the opposition’s attacks.
In extra time, the yellow team gained strength to attack, as the idea was to score to win and avoid penalty kicks. The Andean team went through difficult moments, although they managed to establish themselves, especially in the second extra time.
Lautaro Martinez, who came on as a substitute, was Argentina’s hero, scoring the only goal of the game in the 111th minute, making himself the top scorer.
In the 116th minute, with a numerical advantage, Angel Di Maria bid farewell to the national team when he was replaced by Nicolas Otamendi. The applause for the “video” was immediate.
The finale was tense thanks to the Colombian “Olazos”, but the Albiceleste’s celebrations began with the final whistle that filled the glory once again for the team that, in addition to strengthening its continental record, saw it win the fourth final after the final and the World Cup Qatar 2022.
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