In another chaotic night amid serious security breaches and organisational flaws, Argentina were crowned Copa America champions after beating Colombia 1-0 in extra-time at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Sunday night.
Supersub Lautaro Martinez scored the winning goal in the 112th minute of a tense game that saw Lionel Messi leave the pitch in tears in the second half, his right ankle noticeably swollen after an injury sustained in the first half.
It was also Angel Di Maria’s farewell game for Argentina, a brilliant career in which he overcame severe criticism and depression.
DELAYED KICK-OFF
The game was delayed five times, with kick-off time pushed from 20:00 to 20:30, then 20:45, 21:15 and finally 21:22 amid drama outside and inside the stadium that will be part of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Players had started the warm-up and were instructed to return to their dressing rooms, worried about their family members. Stampedes and avalanches were taking place in every gate, with thousands of fans without tickets pushing to sneak in.
Conmebol’s and the host country monumental failure in providing a safe environment was already denounced after the scandal in Colombia-Uruguay, with players punching fans that were harassing their family members in the stands.
With 20 minutes for the supposed kick-off, Alexis MacAllister and other Argentinian players had left the dressing room and rushed to the gates in which their family members were being held.
The inhuman conditions of long crowds pushing without fences or cordons saw many people fainting and needing medical attention.
Panic took over when the stadium gates were suddenly closed, leaving many fans, including families and kids, without escape, with a multitude still pushing. Colombian fans were shown on videos trying to sneak in climbing walls or using the ventilation ducts.
Alejandro Garnacho’s father complained on X:
“Shameful CONMEBOL. Players’ families outside without being allowed to enter the stadium”.
Only after the players knew that their families were safe, they accepted to go back on the pitch for the warm-up.
WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE
Minutes later, when the gates reopened, there was no control for tickets or for security. A day after the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump, the CONMEBOL Copa America final had thousands of spectators inside the stadium without any proper police check-up. It was a miracle that nothing happened.
At the same time, thousands of people carrying tickets were left outside, some of them having paid more than 2,000 US Dollars for a ticket. Several accredited journalists with tickets were not allowed to enter either.
FOOTBALL
The final was hard-fought, something expected with the two teams being at their historic peak. Colombia were unbeaten for 28 games, Argentina carrying only 2 defeats in the last 61 matches.
The team managed by Lionel Scaloni started better, with two attempts by Julian Alvarez and Messi, but Colombia levelled and regained possession.
In the 34th minute, a run by Messi ended with a horrific sprained ankle, putting on the table the other flaw of this Copa America – the pitches.
Criticised by most of the teams, the natural grass was barely added on top of the artificial turf within days of the tournament’s start, with several joints left visible. Uruguay manager Marcelo Bielsa said in an incensed press conference that everybody was threatened not to speak the truth, that pitches are unplayable.
Not even the 27-minute half-time with the Shakira show –an irony in a competition that saw four managers fined and suspended for failing to show up after exactly 15 minutes – helped Messi to recover. His ankle was swollen like a football. He went back limping and managed to stay for a few minutes in that condition.
IN-DEPTH
When Messi fell again and asked for the substitution, his team-mates were left in shock. Messi, their captain, crying like a little boy because he wasn’t able to keep playing.
His substitute Nicolas Gonzalez rose up to the occasion, quickly becoming Argentina’s main weapon.
When Scaloni decided to make a triple substitution, he couldn’t have guessed that those three players, Paredes, Lo Celso and Lautaro Martinez, were going to give him the title a few minutes later. It was a quick recovery of Paredes and a devastatingly quick attack with Lautaro searching the open space, receiving Lo Celso’s assist and smashing it home.
Argentina’s squad power was much more than just a First XI.
GOLDEN ERA
It’s the fourth consecutive title for La Albiceleste, a historic run that started by beating Brazil at Maracaná in the Copa America 2021, continued with La Finalissima against Italy at Wembley, then France on penalties in the 2022 World Cup played in Qatar.
Credit: AIPS Media
