Martinez goal secures 16th Copa America championship for Argentina with a 1-0 win against Columbia
Argentina won record 16th Copa America championship title after extra-time goal from Lautaro Martinez; final delayed for over an hour with thousands of ticketless fans trying to enter stadium. Read more.
Argentina has won their 16th Copa America championship, and its biggest player, Lionel Messi, is probably leaving the country of international football. After thousands of ticketless spectators attempted to enter the stadium, the game in Miami, Florida, was postponed for almost an hour. Despite being tense for over ninety minutes, the game on Sunday became more intense during the extra session.
In the 112th minute, Argentina supporters went crazy as Lautaro Martinez—the tournament’s top scorer—latched onto a precise through ball from Giovani Lo Celso and lifted his effort over advancing Colombia goalkeeper Camilo Vargas.
Martinez’s right-footed goal, his fifth of the tournament, went between the upraised arms of sliding goalkeeper Camilo Vargas just inside the penalty area. It was his 29th goal for his country.
What now for Argentina’s star Messi and others after
Following their victories at the 2022 World Cup and the 2021 Copa America, Argentina has won their 16th Copa, and this latest victory provides eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi with the ideal send-off in what may be his final international competition. Along with defender Nicolas Otamendi, 36, who also announced last year that he will retire from international football after the Copa, the victory also represented Angel Di Maria’s final game for Argentina.
“In actuality, this was written in this manner,” Di Maria remarked. “I had a dream that I would make it to the championship game, win, and then retire in this manner. “I am leaving this generation with a title and so many wonderful feelings. I am also eternally grateful.” Messi, who is 37 years old, made his 39th and perhaps final Copa America participation. He scored one goal during the competition. After being stepped on in the first half, he went down, but he finished the match.
When Messi went down on the field in the second half, it seemed as though he knew his tournament was finished and turned to face the bench. As he left, he removed his right boot and smashed it, looking like he had swelled his ankle.
Lautaro Martinez goal declares Argentina crowed champions
Gonzalez had the finest opportunity of the first extra time period, but after Rodrigo De Paul’s cut-back, he could only shoot straight at Vargas. As time ran out, Lisandro Martinez delivered a superb block on Miguel Borja, and Argentina took the lead shortly after. After De Paul regained the ball close to halfway, he found Lautaro Martinez, who passed to Giovani Lo Celso, another replacement, and scored the goal of the tournament to stop Colombia’s run of 28 consecutive victories.
Unruly crowd at the final
Due to crowd control concerns outside the stadium, where thousands of fans without tickets breached security gates at a site to be used for the 2026 World Cup, the start time was postponed from 8 p.m. EDT (00:00 GMT) to 9 p.m. (13:22 GMT). For a little while, the national teams were removed from the field while mayhem broke out outside. After then, police were able to close the gates and impose a lockdown, forcing some ticket holders outdoors.
Around 8:10 p.m., security started letting fans in, but the disturbance persisted. In a statement released during the game, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and Chief Public Safety Officer James Reyes stated that the county had committed almost 550 police officers to the stadium detail in addition to additional staff from neighboring agencies.
The statement said, “Let’s be clear: This situation should have never taken place and cannot happen again.” “In order to put in place the necessary procedures and policies for all future games, we will work with stadium leadership to ensure that a full review of tonight’s events takes place immediately to evaluate the full chain of events.”
Supporters sporting both teams’ uniforms began to run in different directions, some of them with kids on their shoulders. Few police officers or stadium personnel could be spotted among the crowd, and tickets were not being scanned. A few spectators began scaling barriers to gain entry. A fan waving a Colombian flag was observed by three police officers handcuffed him on the ramp leading to the stadium’s seats.
The South American tournament title match was predicted to draw a sellout audience of over 65,000 spectators. Fans of Argentina and Colombia were evenly divided in the stands, with a noticeable preference for yellow Colombian apparel. Days prior, following Uruguay’s Copa America semifinal loss, football players and Colombian supporters got into a physical altercation, necessitating the intervention of security forces to keep the peace.
