Many argue that the Copa America has a lower standard of football than the Euro Cup. However, this is not true. A good case in point would be the final between Colombia and Argentina played at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, USA.
Coach vs Coach: A battle of tactics
Both Lionel Scaloni and Nestor Lorenzo; Argentina and Colombia national team managers respectively, have been former Argentina players. Interestingly, both also began coaching early in their careers and have been assistant coaches for Argentina, with Scaloni working under Jorge Sampaoli in 2018 and Lorenzo under Jose Pekerman in 2004.
Unsurprisingly, both managers believe in a solid tactical positional play and this was evident in their starting lineup formations.
Argentina began the game with a 4-3-3 formation with Di Maria, Alvarez, and Messi upfront while Lorenzo did a masterclass by deploying his team in a 4-2-3-1 formation to counter the defending Copa America champions.
Colombia kept Argentina quiet for 45 minutes
Argentina began the game well but then fumbled. La Albiceleste (Argentina national team) began putting pressure from the first minute itself. Montiel, who scored the winning penalty in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, whipped in a dangerous cross to Julian Alvarez, who tried to shoot the ball in a volley but couldn’t keep it on target.
Despite such a promising attack, the defending Copa America champions failed to find such a rhythm in the next 45 minutes.
Colombia’s reign of attack commenced with super striker Luis Diaz’s direct shot at goal. While goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez saved the first attempt, things got alarming when Colombia forward Jhon Cordoba’s shot hit the outside of the Argentine goalpost.
The Blue and White shirts had a tough time dealing with continuous attacks from La Tri (Colombia national teams) as Montiel and Lisandro Martinez blocked successive dangerous crosses. Richard Rios’s shot was a routine save by Martinez and Lerma’s long-range shot was wide by mere inches in the 32nd minute.
Angel Di Maria, affectionately called ‘Fideo’ had quite an impressive performance in his farewell game, as the No 11 dribbled past Colombian players with ease but failed to convert the moves into goals. Di Maria combined well with Messi, who had a chance at goal if his final shot had not been blocked by his teammate Alvarez who could not get out of the way quickly. However, apart from this chance and Tagliafico heading the ball above goal from the captain’s free kick, Argentina were kept busy defending in their half.
Argentina arrive re-fuelled in the second half
Scaloni’s revised tactics saw a more attacking role for McAllister whose header on goal was blocked by the defenders and Di Maria’s shot was saved by Colombia goalkeeper Camillo Vargas.
It was unfortunate to see Messi collapse during his run and walk off the field sobbing with a hugely swollen ankle. However, if there was any consolation, his substitute Nico Gonzalez gave a high-impact performance. The Fiorentina forward almost won their nation the final, as he scored off a Di Maria pass, with the goal being ruled offside. However, the No 15 was not done yet. He set up Alvarez for a free tap-in during the twilight moments of the game and had another shot in the 92nd minute.
The deciding goal came in extra time!
Though both teams dominated one half each, the extra time seemed an equal zone with both vying hard for a goal. Until Lautaro Martinez came in a one-on-one situation with Vargas in the 112th minute. Thanks to a lovely one-two pass with Paredes and a through pass by Giovani Lo Celso, the Inter Milan forward had the chance to wipe off his World Cup struggling form memories and he did exactly that. With a powerful shot, too hard for Vargas to save, Martinez gave Argentina the decisive lead.
The goal not only helped Argentina successfully defend their title but also saw Lautaro clinch the Golden Boot award with 5 goals, the highest tally in the tournament.
This title marks for Argentina a glorious era like Spain, as they both become the only teams to win back-to-back continental tournaments with a World Cup in between.
It was heart-wrenching to see a galvanised Colombia side lose out on the trophy by inches but this side is young and still has a few more years, maybe inspiring captain James Rodriguez goes all the way again in the next Copa. But the 2024 Copa America was indeed the crowning moment of an Argentine golden generation, who have transformed their final loss saga into a winning exercise.