World champions Argentina won the soccer Copa America after beating Colombia 1-0 in the final in Miami. In the final, two 36-year-old players, Ángel Di María and Nicolas Otamendi, played in their last match for the national team. The former has won countless battles with Argentina’s world class Lionel Messi, so it is no surprise that Di María left the field in tears.
Argentina beat Colombia 1-0 in extra time with Lautaro Martínez’s goal, thus defending their title and winning the Copa América for the sixteenth time – was previously written by Magyar Nemzet. Lionel Messi had to be replaced due to an injury, which is why the eight-time Ballon d’Or later cried on the bench. However, it wasn’t just Messi struggling with tears alone, another Argentine legend also struggled with his emotions in his last match for the national team.
A dream come true
Ángel Di María, who was capped 145 times, said goodbye to the shirt with the crest, in which he achieved so much success together with Lionel Messi.
It’s hard to describe this feeling in words. That’s how it was written. I told the guys at dinner last night that I had this dream. I also said that this would be my last Copa America because I dreamed that we would reach the final and win it so that I could retire
he declared Di María, one of the best wingers of all time.
Before the match, Argentina captain Lionel Messi wanted his farewell teammate’s name to appear on the scoreboard in the final, as was the case in 2021, when they won the continental title against Brazil, or in 2022, when Argentina won the World Cup trophy against France. In the end, the veteran classic could not score, Ángel Di María was replaced by the also retiring Nicolas Otamendi in the 117th minute. The football player, who most recently played for Benfica and is currently without a club, left the pitch crying, read the On Origo’s side. Di María scored 31 goals in 144 games for Argentina, played in six Copa Americas and four World Cups. At the 2008 Beijing Pentathlon Games, he won the Olympic gold, the continental championship in 2021, and the world championship in 2022 with the national team. One of the defining figures of the decade and a half of Argentine football, he retired as a member of the national team 145 times, this number is the third most in the history of Argentine football after Lionel Messi (186) and Javier Mascherano (147).
2024-07-16 13:36:07