Argentina vs. Brazil, Copa America final 2021 score: Messi achieves international glory for the first time
Argentina vs. Brazil, Copa America final 2021 score:
Messi achieves international glory for the first time
Argentina won their first trophy since 1993 on Saturday,
and Lionel Messi finally earned silverware with his national team as they beat Brazil 1-0 at the Maracana in the 2021 Copa America final.
Angel Di Maria’s first-half goal was enough as Lionel Scaloni’s team ran through the tournament with impressive results with Messi leading the way, validating his international career with a long-awaited trophy. Brazil, who struggled with consistency in front of goal for much of the tournament, had a nightmare in attack in a match that just never went their way.
Argentina finished the night with just six shots, putting two on the frame, while Brazil had 13 shots but only put two of theirs on goal.
The match featured 41 fouls that considerably slowed down the pace, adding to the frustration of the hosts, while Argentina was content with sitting back and defending their lead.
The winning goal came in the 22nd minute from Di Maria, who got free down the right after an error from Brazil right back Renan Lodi Argentina vs Brazil .
A fine ball from Rodrigo de Paul really should have been settled by the defender, but he took a poor angle on it, and it fell right to Di Maria, who beat Ederson with a ridiculous chip.
Argentina didn’t have many great chances the rest of the way,
while Brazil was able to infiltrate the box time and time again, but some inspiring performances from Nicolas Otamendi,
German Pezzella and most of all Cristian Romero helped Argentina become the first team to hold Brazil scoreless since … Argentina in November of 2019.
As the match was nearing its end, the referee gave five minutes of added time, and when the final whistle blew, every player from Argentina sprinted to Messi
Redemption for Di Maria … that was planned What a moment from Di Maria.
While he always seems to get injured in the biggest of Argentina’s matches, even going down in this one, he earned legendary status on this night.
His fine finish wasn’t just a fluke or a bit of luck though.
Di Maria, speaking to TyC Sports after the match, said he and De Paul talked before the game about how they could expose Lodi Argentina vs. Brazil.
Di Maria claimed that De Paul told him Lodi can fall asleep at the back and that they could take advantage of it, and that is what they did.
In what was a goal most can only dream about, let alone in a final, Di Maria pulled off one of the most memorable moments in the storied history of the Argentina national team.
As for De Paul … I’m sure Lodi is going to love hearing that he thinks he can be exposed.
De Paul is expected to join Lodi at Atletico Madrid this summer Argentina vs Brazil .
A defensive performance out of nowhere Look, Argentina’s defense is usually cringe-worthy.
While they have only conceded multiple goals in three of their last 23 games,
the number of chances that they tend to give up is always alarming.
Against Ecuador in the quarterfinals, in a game they won 3-0, Ecuador
had enough good chances to draw that game 3-3. A lack of organization,
a lack of awareness, and just silly, simple errors have opened the door for teams to do damage.
We saw Colombia do it in the World Cup qualifying against Argentina in June.
But in this one, it was a performance that Argentines will never forget.
While Romero was a doubt for this match due to injury and having not played for about two weeks,
his surprise inclusion uplifted this team big time.
Argentina vs. Brazil
From some well-timed challenges to just being a rock in the air,
his return seemed to lift those around him, especially Nicolas Otamendi.
The 33-year-old turned back the clock like crazy, putting together form reminiscent of his 2014-15 at Valencia or his early days at Manchester City.
While he was playing with fire for much of the match,
he had countless moments where he was the last man, saving the day.
Even German Pezzella off the bench, replacing Romero, had a key stop at a tight angle on Gabriel Barbosa.
It was not a match where not everything went right, but every single defender knew the role,
played it well and produced what will be the most memorable night of their lives.
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