Cup of thunder at the Maracana! Lionel Messi finally won his first title with Argentina by taming Neymar’s Brazil in the Copa America final (1-0), Saturday July 10, ending a twenty-eight year shortage of his country.
The fifth was the right one: after four major tournament finals lost with the Albiceleste (Mondial-2014, Copa America 2007, 2015 and 2016), the six-fold Golden Ball finally lifted a trophy with the jersey of his country. Carried in triumph by his teammates after the final whistle, Messi, 34, finished top scorer and passer in the tournament (4 goals and 5 assists).
But the hero of the final is called Angel Di Maria: the Paris-SG player scored the Argentinian victory goal with a splendid lob after a bright opening from Rodrigo De Paul, also excellent at the Maracana. Neymar, he did not know how to influence the match and burst into tears after the final whistle, before being comforted by a hug from Messi, his former teammate at FC Barcelona.
A cruel disillusion for Brazil
For Brazil, we are far from the trauma of the 1950 Maracanazo against Uruguay or the humiliation of the 7-1 inflicted by Germany in the semifinals of the 2014 World Cup, but it remains a cruel disillusion for the supporters of the title, which had triumphed in the five other editions of the Copa played at home. Tite’s men were unbeaten in official matches since the 2018 World Cup quarter-final against Belgium (1-2). They had beaten their great Argentinian rivals in their last two encounters in the Copa America final (2004, 2007) and in the semi-final of the last edition, in 2019.
Argentina, who had not won a trophy since the 1993 Copa America in Ecuador, joined Uruguay at the top of the competition, with fifteen trophies, keeping the Brazilians at bay (9).
For this gala match, the city hall of Rio had allowed the presence of a few thousand supporters, with a gauge of 10% at the Maracana at the climax of a competition, while all the previous matches had been played behind closed doors. due to the Covid-19 pandemic which has claimed more than 530,000 lives in Brazil. FIFA President Gianni Infantino came especially to Rio for the final, and was also part of the party.
Palpable tension
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni had decided to field a resolutely offensive team, with Di Maria, replacing in the last three games, alongside Messi and Lautaro Martinez in attack.
Like any “superclasico” between the two sacred monsters of South American football, the tension was palpable from the kick-off. The Seleçao began to impose a big pressing, with an aggressiveness quickly sanctioned by a yellow card for Fred from the third minute of play. Neymar also wanted to immediately mark his territory, with a sombrero blow on his ex-teammate of PSG Lo Celso at the midline (7e).
But after a choppy start to the match, with a large number of faults on both sides, the lightning came from Di Maria. Well launched by De Paul on the right at the limit of offside, the Parisian winger picked up speed Renan Lodi before deceiving goalkeeper Ederson with a beautiful lob (22e). This goal stunned Brazil somewhat and the Argentine waves continued to surge, with strikes from Di Maria (28e) and Messi (30e).
Tite tried everything for the whole while bringing in an additional striker at half-time, Firmino, in place of Fred and the Seleçao regained momentum. Richarlison was denied a goal for offside (52e) and came up against goalkeeper Martinez (53e) after a nice opening from Neymar in the box. Gabigol created two chances at the end of the match (82e, 86e), but Argentina held on to triumph in the temple of Brazilian football.
