Argentina
won
its
second
straight
Copa
America
championship,
overcoming
Lionel
Messi’s
second-half
leg
injury
to
beat
Colombia
1-0
Sunday
night
on
Lautaro
Martínez’s
112th-minute
goal.
Messi
appeared
to
sustain
a
non-contact
injury
while
running
and
falling
in
the
64th
minute
and
covered
his
face
with
his
hands
as
he
sat
on
the
bench
and
sobbed.
Martínez
later
ran
to
that
bench
to
hug
his
captain
after
the
goal
that
propelled
Argentina
to
its
record
16th
Copa
title.
In
a
match
that
started
1
hour,
22
minutes
late
because
of
crowd
trouble
at
Hard
Rock
Stadium,
Argentina
won
its
third
straight
major
title
following
the
2021
Copa
America
and
2022
World
Cup
and
matched
Spain,
which
won
the
2008
and
2012
European
Championships
around
the
2010
World
Cup.
Argentina
also
stopped
Colombia’s
28-game
unbeaten
streak
dating
to
a
February
2022
loss
to
the
Albiceleste.
Martínez
entered
in
the
97th
minute
and
scored
from
Giovani
Lo
Celso’s
perfect
through
pass
after
Leandro
Paredes
stripped
the
ball
from
a
Colombian
just
short
of
the
center
stripe.
Just
inside
the
penalty
area,
Martínez
sent
a
right-foot
shot
through
the
upraised
arms
of
sliding
goalkeeper
Camilo
Vargas
for
his
29th
international
goal,
his
tournament-high
fifth.
Appearing
to
be
limping
after
the
final
whistle
sounded
well
past
midnight,
Messi
beckoned
for
his
senior
teammates
to
lift
the
trophy
with
him:
36-year-old
Nicolás
Ottamendi
and
Ángel
Di
María,
who
is
retiring
from
the
national
team.
As
white
confetti
cascaded,
the
trio
hugged.
“The
truth
is,
it’s
hard
to
describe,”
Di
Maria
said.
“It
was
written
like
that.
I
told
the
guys
last
night
at
dinner
that
I
dreamt
it.
That’s
why
I
said
it
was
my
last
Copa
America.
I
dreamt
we
made
it
to
the
final
and
we
won
it
so
I
could
go
out
this
way.
“I’ll
be
always
grateful
to
this
generation
who
gave
me
everything,
helped
me
win
what
I
always
wanted
and
today,
I
am
leaving
like
this,”
Di
Maria
said.
“It
could
not
be
better.”
Making
his
39th
and
possibly
last
Copa
America
appearance
at
age
37,
Messi
had
one
goal
in
the
tournament.
He
went
down
after
an
ankle
was
stepped
on
in
the
first
half
but
remained
in
the
game.
The
eight-time
Ballon
d’Or
winner
looked
to
the
bench
as
soon
as
he
fell
to
the
field
in
the
second
half,
appearing
to
know
his
tournament
was
over.
He
took
off
his
right
boot
as
he
walked
off
and
slammed
it
frustration,
and
his
ankle
appeared
to
swell.
With
his
right
foot
bare,
he
stood
by
the
bench
and
raised
his
arms
while
teammates
ran
onto
the
field
when
Martínez
scored.
The
start
was
delayed
from
8
p.m.
EDT
to
9:22
p.m.
because
of
crowd
control
issues
outside
the
stadium,
including
troves
of
fans
breaching
security
gates
at
a
venue
to
be
used
for
the
2026
World
Cup.
Days
after
Uruguay
players
were
involved
in
a
brawl
with
Colombia
fans
following
their
semifinal
match
in
Charlotte,
North
Carolina,
video
showed
fans
climbing
fences
and
railings
to
get
inside
the
championship
match,
with
officials
unable
to
keep
track
of
who
had
purchased
tickets
and
who
didn’t.
Colombia
was
more
aggressive
and
forced
goalkeeper
Emiliano
Martínez
to
make
four
saves
in
the
first
half,
but
Argentina
began
to
threaten
more
in
the
second.
Nicolás
Tagliafico
thought
he
scored
in
the
75th
minute
but
was
ruled
offside.
Nicolás
González,
who
replaced
Messi.
was
stopped
by
Vargas
in
the
95th
minute.
Numerous
players
lost
their
footing
during
the
second
half
of
Sunday’s
match.
The
grass
was
heavily
watered
with
sprinklers
following
the
halftime
performance
by
Colombian
pop
star
Shakira,
which
caused
an
extended
halftime
break.
Colombia’s
James
Rodríguez
was
selected
best
player
of
the
tournament.
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