Argentina Wins 16th Copa America with 1-0 Extra-Time Victory

An extra-time goal by substitute Lautaro Martinez gave defending champions Argentina a 1-0 victory against Colombia at Hard Rock Stadium in Florida on Sunday, allowing them to win their record-breaking sixteenth Copa America championship.
 
The match was tense for the first 90 minutes due to hundreds of unticketed spectators trying to get into the stadium, but things heated up in the second half.
 
The tournament's top scorer, Martinez, set off raucous celebrations among Argentina supporters in the 112th minute when he pounced on a pinpoint pass from Giovani Lo Celso and blasted the ball past Colombia goalkeeper Camilo Vargas.
 
Argentina's most recent championship follows their 2022 World Cup and 2021 Copa America victories, and it provides the ideal farewell to eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi in what will likely be his last international competition.
Angel di Maria, 36, said last year that he will retire from international football after the Copa, and defender Nicolas Otamendi, also 36, is also planning to conclude his international career; the victory was also their last match.
 
"The truth is, this was written, it was this way," Di Maria said. "I dreamed it; I dreamed that I would arrive at the final and win it and retire this way."I have so many beautiful feelings, and I am eternally grateful to this generation, and today I am leaving in this way with a title."
 
At the match's outset, Colombia pressed high up the field; Jhon Cordoba struck the crossbar in the seventh minute, while Uruguay's goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez stopped long-range attempts from Jefferson Lerma and Richard Rios.
After taking treatment, Messi could get back on his feet after seeming to injure his ankle in a collision with Santiago Arias in the 36th minute; nonetheless, he was hindered for the rest of the half.
 
Arias and Davinson Sanchez, two Colombian attackers, had good scoring opportunities in the second half. Despite a good performance under pressure, Argentina had a setback in the 66th minute when Lionel Messi hobbled off the field with an ankle injury.
 
"Messi had to leave because of that ankle problem but finally we were able to give him some joy," added Di Maria, who jointly lifted the trophy alongside captain Messi and Otamendi at the presentation ceremony.
 
The game proceeded into extra time as they kept pressing and even had a goal disallowed for offside. However, Colombia managed to hold on.
 
In the extra period, the champs kept pressing, and Vargas had to save a shot from Nico Gonzalez before Martinez scored.

'COLOMBIA DESERVED MORE'

 
After tying for 15 Copa titles, Argentina won and went ahead of Uruguay. Also, it broke Colombia's record-breaking 28-match unbeaten run, during which they had faced 'La Albiceleste' in February 2022 for their previous loss.
 
We thought we deserved more, and losing a tournament for which our entire team worked brutal stings. "But we have to thank the people," Sanchez, a defender for Colombia, added.
 
"We wanted to give the victory to a country that deserves it, Colombia deserves everything, and we leave empty-handed, but we will go on."
Midfielder and captain James Rodriguez broke Lionel Messi's record of five assists in a single Copa America tournament with six, a tiny consolation for Colombia.
Social media footage from the days leading up to the game showed security officers fighting with supporters who had raced across the concourses to try to get in via the stadium's gates.
 
Security personnel escorted many individuals from the stadium, according to a Reuters witness, and some players said that their families could not access the 2026 World Cup site due to the commotion outside.
 
Several problems with the tournament's organization have spoiled it.
The players from Uruguay got into a brawl with the supporters from Colombia earlier in the week, and an assistant referee had to be taken to the hospital after passing out in the heat and muggy circumstances of a group-stage encounter.

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