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Argentina Defeat Colombia 1-0 To Win Record 16th Copa America

admin — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 04:51:44 +0000

Lautaro Martinez scored an extra-time winner as Argentina beat Colombia 1-0 to win a record 16th Copa America title at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday. A poor game which had been marred by security and crowd issues, forcing a 82-minute delay, was decided by a quality finish from Martinez — his fifth goal of the tournament. The win was the third straight major tournament title for Argentine following their 2021 Copa victory and their triumph in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

There were tears before the celebrations though with Argentina captain Lionel Messi going off injured in the 66th minute watching the rest of the game distraught on the bench, while there was an emotional farewell for Angel Di Maria in his final game for the national team.

For Colombia, whose only title came in the 2001 Copa America, it was a disappointing night when little seemed to work for Nestor Lorenzo’s team.

There was chaos around entry to the stadium for fans, with organisers blaming supporters for trying to enter without tickets while fans blamed the lack of an efficient entry system to the venue.

The scenes were alarming with some fans needing medical attention for heat exhaustion but after the decision to suddenly throw open the gates, with no checks on those entering, the situation was largely resolved and the game finally went ahead.

Colombia’s Jhon Corboba hit the bottom of the post with a speculative shot in the seventh minute but neither side were able to find their flow in the early stages.

Di Maria found Messi in the 20th minute with a low ball into the box and Messi’s left-foot shot was saved by Colombia keeper Camilo Vargas.

Colombia had looked the more lively in the opening period and they went close in the 33rd minute when Jefferson Lerma tried his luck from 25 yards out and his low drive forced Emiliano Martinez into a diving save.

Messi tears

There was concern for Messi in the 36th minute when he dribbled to the byline but was halted by a sliding challenge from Santiago Arias which was ruled fair left the Argentine captain needing treatment.

Messi, who now plays his club football in Miami, then curled a free-kick in from the left flank but Nicolas Tagliafico’s header was just off target.

It had been a disappointing first half and it didn’t improve much after the break, when the fans had at least received some entertainment from Colombian singer Shakira.

Argentina failed to deal with a James Rodriguez corner and the ball looped to Davinson Sanchez but he was unable to keep down his header which floated over the bar.

There was finally some of the expected quality when Di Maria produced one of his trademark runs in from the left and forced Vargas into action, the Colombia keeper turning the ball wide of the post.

Then came a major blow for Argentine hopes when Messi went down, without contact, as he ran in midfield, and clearly in pain he went off to be replaced by Nicolas Gonzalez in the 66th minute.

It was too much for Messi, in what may have been his last major tournament, as he sat in tears on the bench, unable to hold back his emotions.

The Argentine fans thought they had grabbed a winner in the 75th minute when Tagliafico found Gonzalez in the box, who beat Vargas with a low drive but the effort was ruled out for offside.

Little changed in extra-time with a half-chance from Miguel Borja after a flick from Jorge Carrascal but the game was settled by a worthy winner.

Leandro Paredes won the ball in midfield for Argentina with a perfectly timed tackle, found Giovani Lo Celso whose first time pass was perfect for the on-running Martinez who confidently fired home the winner.

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Red-Hot Lautaro Martinez Helps Move Inter Milan Top As Khvicha Kvaratskhelia Revives Napoli

admin — Sun, 22 Oct 2023 05:59:40 +0000

Lautaro Martinez continued his red-hot scoring form in Inter Milan’s 3-0 cruise at Torino on Saturday which moved his team top of Serie A while Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s brace at Verona put Napoli’s title defence back on track. Argentina striker Martinez nodded home his 11th league goal of the season in the 67th minute of a straightforward win in Turin as Inter went one point ahead of AC Milan, who host third-placed Juventus on Sunday night. The 26-year-old is already five goals ahead of Victor Osimhen, his nearest rival at the top of the scoring charts, after just nine matches and at his current rate would smash the record single-season haul of 36 set by Gonzalo Higuain in 2016.

Since the departure of Edin Dzeko and Romelu Lukaku in the summer Martinez has become the attacking focal point for Inter who are also the highest scorers in Italy’s top flight with 24 goals.

“Lauti only got back from South America a day and a half ago, but he is in great shape and he gets all the support he could need from the team,” said coach Simone Inzaghi to DAZN.

Strike partner Marcus Thuram opened the scoring eight minutes before Martinez’s strike when he swept home Denzel Dumfries low pass to take his league tally to three, while Hakan Calhanoglu completed the scoring from the penalty spot in stoppage time.

France forward Thuram has had a brilliant start in Italy, where he was born while his World Cup-winning father Lilian played for a star-studded Parma team which won the UEFA Cup in 1999, with five assists also to his name.

Asked how he has settled in at Inter, a delighted Thuram said “very well”.

“This is a great team, and I’m really happy to be able to contribute,” he said to DAZN.

Inzaghi will likely play both Martinez and Thuram on Tuesday when Inter host Salzburg in the first of two Champions League Group D matches against the Austrians.

Inter will almost certainly come up against fiercer resistance at the San Siro than they did from Torino who have now gone four matches without scoring a goal.

Ivan Juric’s injury-hit team were without starting centre-forward Duvan Zapata and are set to lose defender Perr Schuurs for a long time after he was stretchered off with a knee injury following a clash with Nicolo Barella.

Torino look destined for another underwhelming season as they sit 14th on nine points, one point and place behind Sassuolo who were beaten 2-0 by Lazio in the day’s late match.

Kvaratskhelia strikes

Wing wizard Kvaratskhelia netted in each half after Matteo Politano’s 27th-minute opener in a 3-1 win at Verona as Napoli made light of the absence of injured star striker Osimhen.

Rudi Garcia’s side are fifth, five points behind Inter, after a difficult start to the season but are level with Fiorentina and Juve after a commanding display at the Stadio Bentegodi.

Frenchman Garcia, who replaced Italy coach Luciano Spalletti in the summer, has been under fire but was backed publicly by owner Aurelio De Laurentiis on Thursday, and was encouraged by the chances created without Osimhen.

“We did what we needed to do today… It’s better not to have people out but I wasn’t worried,” said Garcia.

“We’ve still got great quality going forward, we scored three times and could have easily got more.”

Kvaratskhelia has struggled to recapture the form which made him one of the shining lights of last season’s title triumph but on Saturday he showed signs he might be getting back to his brilliant best.

He doubled Napoli’s lead two minutes before the break after slamming in a low finish at Lorenzo Montipo’s near post.

And the 22-year-old netted the third nine minutes after the break when he easily skipped past Giangiacomo Magnani and rolled home his third league goal of the campaign.

Marco Baroni’s Verona pulled one back through Dark Lazovic but stay 16th, four points above the relegation zone after their fifth defeat.

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Lionel Messi Doubtful For Argentina’s World Cup Qualifier With Paraguay

admin — Thu, 12 Oct 2023 02:53:47 +0000

Lionel Messi is doubtful for Argentina’s South American World Cup qualifier against Paraguay on Thursday despite “looking good” in training, according to coach Lionel Scaloni. Messi teamed up with the World Cup winners after returning from injury as a second-half substitute for Inter Miami in Major League Soccer on Saturday. Messi had played just 37 minutes for his club since September 3, having returned with an injury from international duty last month. Argentina have won both their qualifiers so far and are level on six points at the top of the table with Brazil.

“We still have one more training session and one more is important for him… I have to talk it over with him and make sure we are convinced he can start. He looked good. Based on that, we will see the rest of the team,” said Scaloni.

The Argentina coach said he also had to take into account that his team would face Peru in Lima five days later.

“What leaves us calm is that, if he is not fit to play, whoever goes out will do just as well, that’s the most important thing,” he said.

One option for Scaloni, should Messi not be fit to play, would be to start with Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez and Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez as a pair.

“They’ve already played together as starters. I’m open to many things. It will depend on the match. It wouldn’t be a problem. They’re different, but they can play,” he added.

Paraguay have one point from their opening games and sit in sixth place, the final spot for automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup.

Brazil host Venezuela in Cuiaba on Thursday — the ‘Vinotinto’ have three points after a 1-0 win over Paraguay and a narrow 1-0 loss to Colombia.

Midfielder Casemiro says the ‘Selecao’ won’t underestimate an opponent looking for their first appearance in the finals.

“It’s going to be a difficult game. Venezuela have their merits, many players playing in Europe, quality players. The important thing here is respect,” the Manchester United and former Real Madrid midfielder told a news conference.

“Football is one of the few sports in which the favourite does not always win… and in South America there’s no easy game,” he added.

Brazil will be playing their third game under interim coach Fernando Diniz and Casemiro said the team are still adjusting to a new approach.

“We are trying to adapt as quickly as possible, but it takes time. At club level it usually takes months. In the national team we are trying to do it with videos and so on to correspond to that work philosophy as quickly as possible and minimise mistakes,” he said.

After the clash with Venezuela, Brazil visit Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay on Tuesday in Montevideo. Venezuela will host Chile.

Thursday’s other games see Colombia host Uruguay, Bolivia take on Ecuador and Peru visit Chile.

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