Lautaro Martinez scored in extra time on Sunday night to give Argentina a defending Copa America title and a third consecutive major tournament win.
Martinez scored his fifth goal of the tournament in the 112th minute to secure a 1-0 victory over Colombia at Hard Rock Stadium. Martinez drove towards the Colombian goal and fired a shot across the goal from the right side of the goal, beating Colombian goalkeeper Camilo Vargas.
Martinez’s goal came just minutes after he came on as one of Argentina’s three substitutes in the 97th minute. His five goals are the most of any Copa America scorer, with three of them coming after he was introduced as a substitute.
Argentina played almost half the match without Lionel Messi as the game finished tied 0-0 at the end of extra time and went into 30 minutes of extra time.
Messi went down chasing the ball and left the game in the 65th minute – he seemed to realise straight away that he was injured – and it didn’t take long for the bench to bring in Nicolas Gonzalez as his replacement.
Messi limped off the field with no shoe on his right foot and promptly collapsed into his seat on the bench. He broke down in tears moments later, perhaps with the realization that Sunday night’s match might be his last major tournament appearance for his country.
The seriousness of Messi’s ankle injury became clear to viewers at home when television cameras zoomed in on the swollen joint at the start of extra time.
Shortly after Martinez’s goal, Angel Di Maria was substituted for Nicolas Otamendi in the 117th minute. Sunday’s match was Di Maria’s final in an Argentina shirt, and he too was in tears after leaving the pitch. He shared a hug with a smiling Messi after taking his place on the Argentina bench.
The win marked the defending World Cup champions’ 16th Copa America title. Argentina beat Brazil 1-0 in 2021 to record their first major tournament victory of the Messi era. A year later, Argentina beat France on penalties in the World Cup final, capping off a glittering career for the man who may be the greatest soccer player of all time.
Messi did not retire from the national team after the World Cup, taking part in Sunday night’s game in the same city where he now plays club soccer for Inter Miami, but he was unable to make much of an impact on the field and was briefly injured in a tackle in the first half.
While Argentina was the more dangerous team for much of the game, Colombia closed the game with more possession and shots on goal. Sunday night marked Colombia’s third appearance in a Copa America final, as they seek their second title. They first appeared in the final in 1975, losing, and then won as hosts in 2001.
Security breach postpones and ruins match
Kickoff was delayed by more than an hour due to chaos at the gates and concourses of Hard Rock Stadium, where fans crowded the gates to try to get into the stadium hours before kickoff, as there was no perimeter around the stadium.
Many of the fans did not appear to have tickets, and dire scenes played out throughout the stadium. Initially, tournament organizers had a solution to bar everyone from entering, then, just before kick-off, the decision was made to allow anyone in, as tickets had not been scanned at all.
During the match, CONCACAF, the governing body of North American soccer, made it clear that it had nothing to do with the tournament – the Copa America is run by CONMEBOL, the governing body of South American soccer.
Here’s how the match unfolded in real time:
The live broadcast has ended85 Updates
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Final score: Argentina 1-0 Colombia
112′ – Lautaro Martinez scores after an assist from Giovani Lo Celso.
