Argentina captured a record-breaking 16th Copa América title on July 14 by defeating Colombia in the final 1-0. The game marked forward Ángel Di María’s final game for Argentina. It is also Argentina’s fourth title in 3 years, adding to the team’s 2021 Copa Amèrica and 2022 FIFA World Cup wins.
Argentina had an early chance to go up 1-0 with forward Julian Alvarez nearly scoring in the first minute. Colombia controlled the ball in the first half and created chances, including Colombia forward Jhon Córdoba’s volley that hit the post six minutes in.
Toward the end of the first half, forward Lionel Messi hurt his ankle, but he continued on after picking up the injury. In the second half, Messi was substituted, and he left the field in tears.
Argentina and Colombia both created scoring opportunities in the second half. Forward Nicolás González thought he scored the winning goal for Argentina in the 74th minute, but defender Nicolás Tagliofico was offside in the build up. The score remained 0-0 after 90 minutes, sending the game to extra time.
In the 112th minute of the game, midfielder Giovani Lo Celso found forward Lautaro Martínez, the leading scorer in the tournament, who lifted the ball past Colombia goalkeeper Camilo Vargas to score the winner for Argentina. After the final whistle, the players celebrated Argentina’s second consecutive Copa América win.
Even though Colombia lost the game, forward James Rodríguez was the Player of the Tournament. His six assists in the tournament were a major reason Colombia made it to its first final in 23 years and reminded fans of the player who once was remarkable on the world stage after he missed the previous Copa and World Cup.
Before the final game, coaches has already called out the organizers of the Copa América. Many teams were dissatisfied with poor field conditions because grass was laid over artificial surfaces in several NFL stadiums for the games.
A fight also occurred after the semifinal game between Uruguay and Colombia. Colombia fans near the Uruguay players’ families were becoming aggressive, so players rushed into the stands and further clashes occurred. This incident led to criticism of the security for not protecting players’ families seated close to opposition fans in the stadium.
Days later at the final in Miami, another security issue occurred. Thousands of fans without tickets attempted to enter Hard Rock Stadium for the final, climbing over gates. This caused chaos for fans with tickets and leading to several arrests. This caused stadium security to shut the gates and delayed the game by over an hour from the original kickoff time. Fans even attempted to climb in through stadium vents.
As a result of these issues, there are serious concerns ahead of the United States hosting the World Cup in two years at these same stadiums. Similar scenes occurred at the Euro 2020 final at Wembley Stadium in London when ticketless fans also tried to storm the stadium.
The U.S. has held successful World Cups before in 1994 and 1999. Soccer organizers will need to take serious action to ensure safety and order at the 2026 edition of the tournament.
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