Lautaro Martinez’s extra-time strike on Sunday night gave Argentina back-to-back Copa America titles and a third straight major tournament victory.
Martinez scored his fifth goal of the tournament in the 112th minute in a 1–0 win over Colombia at Hard Rock Stadium. Martinez broke into the Colombia goal and crossed the goal from the right to beat Colombia goalkeeper Camilo Vargas.
Martinez’s goal came minutes after he entered the game as part of a triple substitution for Argentina in the 97th minute. His five goals lead all goalscorers in the Copa America, three of which came after he played as a substitute.
Argentina played almost half of the game without Lionel Messi due to an extra 30 minutes of extra time after a 0-0 stalemate at the end of regulation.
Messi crumpled to the ground chasing the ball and left the game in the 65th minute. He seemed to know immediately that he was in trouble. It didn’t take long for the bench to prepare a replacement in the form of Nicolas Gonzalez.
Messi left the field without a shoe on his right foot and soon collapsed in his seat on the bench. Moments after he sat down, he broke down in tears, perhaps knowing full well that Sunday night’s game could be his last major competitive appearance for his home country.
The severity of Messi’s ankle injury became apparent to viewers at the start of extra time when TV cameras zoomed in on the swollen ankle.
Shortly after Martinez’s goal, Angel Di Maria was subbed for Nicolas Otamendi in the 117th minute. Sunday’s game was Di Maria’s final in an Argentina uniform and he too was in tears after leaving the pitch. After he arrived on the Argentina bench, Di Maria shared a hug with a smiling Messi.
The victory was the 16th Copa America title for the reigning World Cup champions. Argentina beat Brazil 1-0 in 2021, the first major tournament win of the Messi era. A year later, Argentina beat France in the World Cup final on penalty kicks, making a great career for a man who could have been the greatest footballer of all time.
Messi hasn’t retired from international duty since the World Cup, and he currently finds himself playing a Sunday night game in the same city where he plays his club football for Inter Miami. But he struggled to make much of an impact in his time on the field and was briefly injured in a tackle in the first half.
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Final score: Argentina 1-0 Colombia
112′ – Lautaro Martinez finds the net with an assist from Giovanni Lo Celso.
