On Sunday night, Argentina won a record-breaking 16th Copa América title, retaining the trophy they hoisted aloft in Rio de Janeiro three years earlier, by beating Colombia 1-0 after extra time in Miami.
The final was, from an organisational point of view, a complete farce, kicking off around 82 minutes late, with CONMEBOL blaming ‘ticketless fans’, we’ve been here before, while half time lasted 26 minutes to allow Shakira to perform; read the room!
Ultimately, with extra time, the tie concluded over four hours after it was scheduled to begin, but it was a night of glory for Argentina, so here are three key takeaways from an eventful night in the Sunshine State.
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Top Three Takeaways From Argentina vs Colombia
Lautaro Martínez Can Do It at International Level
At this tournament, Argentina played 570 minutes, of which Lautaro Martínez was on the field for only 221 minutes (40.9%), starting just two of six matches, introduced as a substitute seven minutes into extra time during Sunday’s final.
Nevertheless, that did not stop him from claiming the golden boot, bagging his fifth goal of the competition 15 minutes after his belated entrance at the Hard Rock Stadium, on target twice more than Salomón Rondón, who ended up second in the highest-scorer charts.
He now has 29 international goals to his name, only seven Argentine men have more, namely Lionel Messi, Gabriel Batistuta, Sergio Agüero, Hernán Crespo, Diego Maradona, Gonzalo Higuaín and Ángel Di María, which isn’t bad company to keep.
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Eight of these goals have been scored this year, with the Inter attacker also having earned the Capocannoniere as Serie A’s main marksman, but Lionel Scaloni remains unconvinced, believing Julián Álvarez is a better foil for Lionel Messi.
Nevertheless, Martinez has now had the big moment, scoring a dramatic late winner in a final, that many of his compatriots never experienced, so, whatever happens, he’ll be immortalised forever, even if he continues to be used purely as a super-sub.
The End of the Lionel Messi Era Is Approaching
Mid-way through the second half in Miami, having suffered a large thwack on his ankle from Santiago Arias, Messi hobbled off, substituted before spending the rest of the game on the bench in tears, very reminiscent of his great adversary Cristiano Ronaldo’s exit from the Euro 2016 Final.
Luckily for Messi, as had been the case for Ronaldo eight years earlier in Paris, it all ended in celebration, with their teammates getting the job done in their absence, as the 37-year-old hoisted a second Copa América trophy aloft late into the Florida night.
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Many forecast that la Albiceleste’s record goal-scorer and appearances maker would retire following World Cup glory in Qatar, but he stuck around and been justified in doing so, taking his tally to 187 caps, only three men have more: the aforementioned Ronaldo (Portugal, 212), Bader Al-Mutawa (Kuwait, 196) and Soh Chin Ann (Malaysia, 195).
But, how many more times will we see Messi bedecked in the iconic white and sky blue stripes?
Could this be the end, or will he continue until the 2026 World Cup, which commences a fortnight prior to his 39th birthday?
Well, only time will tell, but he has been massively hampered by injuries over the last 12 months or so, sitting out seven Inter Miami matches in 2024 as well as eight fixtures last year due to fitness concerns.
So, could the end of Messi’s international career be in sight?
Argentina will be the team to beat come ’26
Sunday’s triumph continued a sustained period of success for Argentina, which is showing no signs of slowing down.
Before beating Brazil in the 2021 Copa América Final, this team had gone 28 years without winning any major silverware, defeated in a whopping six finals during this barren period, four in the Copa, one in the Confederations Cup as well as in the 2014 World Cup Final of course.
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However, now, the silverware floodgates have been well and truly burst wide-open, with la Albiceleste going back-to-back-to-back, something they’d never previously achieved, capturing successive Copas and the World Cup in-between, replicating what Spain achieved over in Europe 12 years ago.
Speaking of Spain, Scaloni’s side will get the chance to take on newly-crowned champions of Europe next summer, seeking to retain the Finalissima, having hammered Italy 3-0 at Wembley two years ago, simply adding more silverware to their bulging cabinet.
Overall, this team have now lost just two of their last 63 fixtures, beaten only by Saudi Arabia and Uruguay for over five years, so it’s going to take a very strong opponent to dethrone the world champions when the World Cup roadshow rolls into the U.S. in two summer’s time.
