Argentina are now the most successful team in the history of Copa America after beating Colombia 1-0 in the extra time of the 2024 edition of the tournament.
Before the 2024 Copa America, Argentina and Uruguay were joint most successful countries at the tournament with 15 titles each. The Uruguayan side were expected to go one better than the Argentine in the just concluded campaign but they failed to do so despite having the favourites of the competition tag.
Recall that Colombia stunned Uruguay out of the competition in the semi-finals with just a 1-0 scoreline.
With their unexpected victory over the Uruguayan, most football pundits expected the Colombian side to give Argentina a run for their money which they did earlier today, July 15. They successfully dragged the 2024 Copa America final into extra time.
It was not until the 112th minute of the encounter that the spectators at the packed Hard Rock Stadium in the United States witnessed a goal. Lautaro Martínez who practically carried Argentina at the tournament scored the match-winner.
With Martínez’s goal, Argentina won their record 16th Copa America title with a 1-0 scoreline and their second in a row. The 26-year-old Inter Milan striker also went home with the tournament’s Golden Boot thanks to his five goals in the campaign.
The bad side of the victory for Argentina was that their iconic footballer, Lionel Messi, was forced out of the game in the 66th minute after he slipped and fell with no contact. The poor state of the pitch was blamed for the injury.
Aside from that, before the game started, security operatives had to battle with ticketless fans who tried to force their way into the stadium.
During the second half break, Colombian music icon, Shakira performed some of her hit songs as the break lasted for about 25 minutes instead of the regular 15 minutes.
