The 2021 Copa America, which took place in the historic football country of Brazil, was an absolutely fantastic display of South American skill, class and unique style of football. Even with the Euros going on, the Copa America was a competition that soccer fans all over the world were keeping close tabs on. With stars like Lionel Messi, Neymar, Luis Suarez, Juan Cuadrado and many others it was sure not to disappoint.
The heavy favorites in this competition were the immensely talented Brazilian squad who had the opportunity to win a Copa on their own turf. Argentina per usual had a lot of expectations. But could Lionel Messi actually get the job done? Colombia, Chile and Uruguay were on the outside looking in. They usually provide a bit of a shock factor to the competition. Always one of them is a dark horse who can upset one of the favorites. Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Paraguay and Bolivia rounded out the rest of the teams competing in the tournament.
The Nations were split into two groups. Group A consisted of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. In group B there was Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. Each team would play one match against everyone in their group to determine who would move on to play in the elimination games. Argentina won group A by a large margin, followed by Uruguay, Paraguay and Chile. In group B, Brazil won without a doubt, followed by Peru, Colombia and Ecuador. Both Bolivia and Ecuador were eliminated from contention after the group stage.
The stars in this tournament did not let any fan down. Messi was carrying Argentina through the Group Stage, Neymar was having a blast with his squad. Luis Suarez and Edison Cavani were the only breath of life Uruguay had in this tournament. Juan Cuadrado too was putting in the work to keep Colombia in the hunt.
A common theme during this International Break has been the Penalty Kick(PK) portion of the tournaments. In both the Euros and the Copa a total of six elimination games went to PK’s. For the Copa there was no extra time played so after the 90 minutes they went straight to penalties. The two favorites had shown what they came to Brazil to do. Although they did not destroy or dominate any nation, they did what was needed to get by and advance onto the next round.
After all the knockout matches, only two teams remained in contention for glory. The Copa America final came down to a rivalry which has been around ever since the game took off. Argentina and Brazil would meet in the Copa America Final for the 11th time in the Cup's history. Messi vs former Barcelona teammate Neymar. It was the match soccer fans have been begging to witness for years.
On July 10th 2021 at Estadio Maracana in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Copa America Final was underway. It was a very rough game from the first whistle, no cheap penalties we awarded and both sides were managed well through great interventions with the referee. There was little to no action from both sides until the 22nd minute when the Argentine legend Angel Di Maria made a great run past the Brazilian defense on the right side of the field, while Rodrigo De Paul sent a beautiful pass which fell right into Di Maria’s lap. Di Maria then tapped the ball over the goalkeeper to score the opening and only goal of the match. Although Brazil made many great efforts to break the Argentine defense, there was no luck. Goalkeeper Emi Martinez and Midfielder Rodrigo De Paul were the stars of the match and played a great 90 minutes. Argentina went on to hold the lead to crown themselves the 2021 Champions of South America.
Lionel Messi went on to receive the Player of the tournament award along with the Golden Boot awarded to the top goal scorer in the tournament. However, he had little care for those awards. His lifetime quest of winning a trophy for Argentina had finally come to an end. That was the only silver he cared about at that moment.
As a Lionel Messi fan boy, I will have to admit that this now makes him the greatest soccer player of all time. To win a Copa America, against your rivals in their home stadium and country is truly impressive. For Messi the next task is getting the squad even more unified and prepared for the quickly approaching World Cup in Qatar in 2022. If Argentina and Head Coach Lionel Scaloni can improve on their style and form, they will without a doubt be heavy favorites to win the ultimate prize in the World Cup.
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