On July 15, Beijing time, the much-anticipated final of the 2024 Copa América was held at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, and Argentina and Colombia offered a tense, exciting and heart-wrenching duel for fans all over the world. In the end, thanks to Lautaro's brilliant kill in the second half of overtime, Argentina successfully defended the Copa America title against Colombia with a 1-0 victory, realizing the feat of three consecutive titles in the competition.
Prior to the start of the match, due to the large number of fans gathered at the ticket gate, including thousands of non-ticketed spectators, the match was delayed for more than an hour for safety reasons before the official kick-off. This episode undoubtedly added a little more tension and anticipation to the final.
Argentina's head coach Scaloni put out his strongest lineup, with Messi, Di Maria and Alvarez forming the frontline trident, while Lautaro was placed on the bench as the team's secret weapon. The game started quickly, but the pace was not fast, and the Colombians dominated in the number of shots on goal with their excellent fitness and athleticism. In the first half, J Luo's exquisite curling of the back of the outside foot nearly broke the deadlock for the Colombian team, but the Argentinean goalkeeper performed well and kept the goal.
In the second half, the game remained close. Messi was injured in the 37th minute when he was kicked down, and although he returned to the field after simple treatment, this injury became a major concern for Argentina. As the game progressed, Messi suddenly collapsed in the 65th minute without confrontation and was replaced by Nicolas Gonzalez. Messi was crying on the bench with his face covered in pain, and the injury to his right ankle was heartbreaking.
At the end of 90 minutes of regulation time, the two sides played to a 0-0 draw and the match went into overtime. This was the first time that extra time was played in this America's Cup, and the atmosphere was even more tense. Lautaro came on as a substitute in the first half of the extra time and became a key figure in changing the game. In the 112th minute, Lautaro calmly shot the ball into the net in the penalty area, scoring the killer goal for Argentina. It was Lautaro's fifth goal of the Copa America and another highlight of his career.
As the final whistle blew, the Argentinean team was in a frenzy as they defended their Copa America title for the 16th time, surpassing Uruguay as the team with the most number of Copa America victories. Lautaro was named top scorer for his outstanding performance, while Jairo was the assist leader with 6 assists.
