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Chile have successfully defended their Copa America title, beating Argentina in a penalty shoot-out.
After a tense 120 minutes, in which neither team was able to break the deadlock, the champion of South America was, once again, destined to be decided from the penalty spot.
Once again, it would be Chile that proved they are the best team in South America.
So as Chile’s golden generation continues to secure silverware, Argentina’s generation continues to fail when it truly counts.
Messi’s wait for an international honour goes on. Undoubtedly, his legacy will be questioned once again.
Final score:
Argentina 3-4 Chile (Penalty shoot-out)
Argentina and Chile do battle in a Copa America final that promises to be just as enthralling as last year’s decider. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 10am AEST.
The two best national teams in South America collide in what should be a high quality contest to round off a superb Copa America Centenario. Argentina and Chile have established themselves as two of the finest national teams in the world and will be keen to round off impressive tournament performances with a win today.
Chile in particular has gone from strength to strength since its round of sixteen showing at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. They managed to defeat Argentina in last year’s Copa America in a penalty shoot-out and are now 90 minutes away from defending their title.
Argentina meanwhile is desperate to end a trophy drought that has now lasted 26 years. The senior team is yet to win anything of note since lifting the Copa America back in 1993.
Final defeats at the 2005, 2007 and 2015 Copa America to go along with a loss at the 2014 World Cup final obviously raises questions about the Albiceleste’s ability to perform when it truly counts.
It is amazing that Argentina has failed to win anything given the squad at its disposal. Lionel Messi headlines a team that contains established stars Angel di Maria, Gonzalo Higuain, Javier Mascherano, Sergio Aguero, Erik Lamela and Ever Banega.
Indeed the great Diego Maradona has proclaimed that if Argentina fails to beat Chile today, then the national team should not bother coming back into the country. While said with tongue in cheek, such a statement reveals the massive pressure Argentina is under heading into today’s final.
Chile on the other hand have already made the most of their golden generation. Arsenal and Bayern Munich stars Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal lead a Chile team whose chemistry allows them to play with pace and skill, as evidenced by their strong wins over Mexico and Colombia.
Given that they have already conquered the Copa America, Chile have the belief required to once again defend their title against a foe desperate to end a barren run of failure.
Of course, todays contest very much hinges on the duel between midfield titans Mascherano and Vidal. Two of the hardest working players in football will try desperately to ensure midfield domination for their respective national teams. Whoever wins that duel will go a long way to deciding the fate of the result today.
Messi’s performance will also be put under the microscope yet again. The Barcelona superstar has performed well at this Copa America but he will be charged with delivering the performance required to lead Argentina to overdue glory. If he falls short again, more questions will be raised about his international legacy.
Higuain is another player that could have a big say in tonight’s result. The Napoli striker is in career best form but he has a tendency to miss big chances in big matches, as evidenced by his glaring misses at the 2014 World Cup final and last year’s Copa America decider.
Overall, Chile has been very impressive and will present Argentina with a stern test. Argentina’s current squad however does possess more quality on the ball and their first round victory over Chile, without Messi, proves this. If Messi and company can dictate terms, the two time World Cup winners can certainly go on and claim a Copa America trophy that may very well lay the foundation for success come Russia 2018.
Argentina to win 2-1