Messi scores to lead Argentina into Copa America final
Lionel Messi scored Argentina’s second goal of the game to help his team beat Canada 2-0 and advance to the Copa America final.
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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Copa America final is Sunday night, and only one team will be victorious.
Argentina, the reigning World Cup champions led by captain Lionel Messi, hopes to make history with its second straight Copa America title.
Meanwhile, Colombia − riding a 28-game unbeaten streak into the final − hopes to win its second Copa America final and avenge its last defeat, which came against Argentina in February 2022.
The Copa America final begins at 8:30 p.m. ET inside Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Follow along here as USA TODAY Sports provides live updates from Sunday night’s match in Miami:
The situation with fans attempting to enter Hard Rock Stadium forced the match to be delayed a half hour.
Kickoff now is slated for 8:30 p.m. ET.
Fans without tickets for Sunday’s Copa America final climbed fences and ran past security more than an hour before the Argentina-Colombia match at Hard Rock Stadium.
At least seven people were seen by USA TODAY Sports receiving treatment by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue near ramps entering the stadium. The people appeared to be in distress with flushed faces and were given bottles of water while sitting on the ground and along a low wall.
Pres. Joe Biden will address the nation shortly before the Copa America final, forcing the broadcast to FS1 to begin the match at 8 p.m.
The game will continue on FOX after Biden’s speech, FOX Sports announced.
Spain won Euro 2024 with a 2-1 victory over England earlier Sunday, and could play the Copa America 2024 winner in the summer of 2025. A date or location is not yet determined.
The last Finalissima, played between Copa and Euro champions, was in 2022 when Argentina beat Italy.
The Argentina and Colombia match will be broadcast on FOX in English, Univision in Spanish.
HOW TO WATCH: See the full slate of Copa America games with a fuboTV subscription
A live stream can be found on FoxSports.com and the Fox Sports app in English, and on TUDN in Spanish.
Yes, Messi is playing. He is expected to start in tonight’s final, his ninth for the Argentine national team.
Messi and Argentina could put the final touch on one of the greatest dynasties soccer has ever seen.
Another Copa America title tonight would be Argentina’s fourth major international championship in a three-year span.
Argentina won Copa America 2021. It beat the Euro 2021 champions, Italy, in the 2022 Finalissima two summers ago. Argentina won the Qatar World Cup in 2022.
Colombia was unable to compete in the Qatar World Cup, so this Copa America has been a significant experience for the national team and the country.
Colombia hopes to win its second Copa America title (2001), and will play in its third Copa America final (1975, 2001).
Argentina 2, Colombia 1: James Rodriguez might manufacture a set piece to get on the board, but Argentina will rely on goals from Lionel Messi, Angel Di Maria to win this title like they did their others, behind their elder statesman. Sorry, to my Colombian friends. But this Argentina dynasty isn’t coming to an end tonight. − Safid Deen, Lionel Messi reporter.
Argentina has +110 odds to win during the 90-minute match, while a draw is +190, and a Colombia win is +320, according to BETMGM. To lift the trophy, Argentina has -190 odds, while Colombia has +138.
Colombia has not lost in its last 28 matches. Its last loss was a 1-0 defeat to Argentina in an Olympic qualifying match on Feb. 1, 2022.
Argentina has lost just three of its last 63 matches. Their last three losses: to Brazil in the Copa America 2019 semifinal; to Saudi Arabia in the 2022 World Cup opener; and to Uruguay in Olympic qualifying last November.
Messi, the 37-year-old Inter Miami star in Major League Soccer, could possibly play his last match in a major tournament for Argentina during the Copa America final. Although Messi has left the door open on playing in World Cup 2026, pending his health and desire to keep playing, this match could be his last in a major tournament if he changes his mind.
Tonight’s match will be the final one in an Argentine jersey for Angel Di Maria, the big-game scorer who has helped Messi lift the international monkey off his back during the club’s recent run of championships.
Messi, 37, has left the door open about playing in the 2026 World Cup. Here’s what he’s said earlier this year about when he could potentially retire.
It’s surreal to imagine how Messi posed with 17-year-old Spain phenom Lamine Yamal for these photos when Yamal was just a baby. Here’s the story behind the viral photos of Messi and Yamal.
Luis Suarez, the Inter Miami star and Uruguay’s leading scorer, came to his country’s rescue with a late goal in the final minutes of stoppage time to force a tie and penalty shootout. Suarez also kicked the game-winning penalty kick to help Uruguay beat Canada 2-2 (4-3 on penalties) in the Copa America third-place match.
Canada finished Copa America 2024 in fourth place, but with an outstanding showing ahead of World Cup 2026.
