America’s Cup
Messi and Argentina remain in the title rush. The superstar has to go out in the Copa final because his ankle is swollen. Whether it will continue remains to be seen. There are deaths in riots in Colombia.
Lionel Messi has won his third major title with Argentina since 2021
Photo: Rebecca Blackwell/AP/dpa
Lionel Messi cried uncontrollably and suffered from his helplessness. With pain in his thick ankle and his football soul, the captain of the Argentine national team had to rely on his teammates for the Albiceleste’s third major title since 2021. With success. “One more,” Messi posted on Instagram after the Copa América final – a giant Copa trophy in his left and right hands.
1,100 days after their first Copa América victory, Argentina won the South American Championship again on Sunday (local time) in Miami with Messi on the bench from the 66th minute. “Leo was born to be on the football pitch,” said national coach Lionel Scaloni. “He never wants to go out because he doesn’t want to let his teammates down.” Against Colombia he had to, and the pictures of his swollen right ankle were not good.
In Messi’s new adopted football home, the eight-time world footballer crowned his unique career. Argentina won 1-0 (0-0) in a final with chaotic conditions. Almost 90 minutes later, the game could only start because fans without tickets tried to enter Hard Rock Stadium. The sometimes shocking images immediately raised security concerns about the 2026 World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico.
It was unclear whether Messi would still play for Argentina. “These are the final battles. We should enjoy everything we achieve as a national team,” he said before the final. Messi will be 39 years old in the summer of 2026.
For a long time, the Copa was a nightmare for Messi, and in 2016 he even announced his retirement from the national team after another failure in the final. What followed was a comeback and a World Cup to forget in Russia in 2018, before Lionel Scaloni took over and led Argentina to their most successful era and an absolute highlight when they won the World Cup 2022 in Qatar. “I don’t know if we defined an era, but the team continues to amaze. She overcomes all difficulties,” he said after winning the Copa again.
After his seventh South American cap, Messi lifted the huge trophy in the sky in Miami with the help of his long-time teammates Ángel di Mariá in his last international game and Nicolás Otamendi. Lautaro Martínez scored the only goal in a hard-fought game in the 112th minute. “All for one,” wrote broadcaster “TyCSports”. “That’s Messi, with drama,” said “Clarín.”
Even in Messi’s former adopted home of Spain, scenes of Messi being touched in this way on the bench quickly made the rounds despite his own victory in Sunday’s European Championships in Berlin. “Messi’s huge release: he falls… and he can’t stop crying on the bench,” wrote the sports newspaper “Marca”. But by the final whistle there were only tears of joy.
Since he had a big trophy in his hands again in Miami, where he has been playing for a year, he fits into the ultimate dream career of the exceptional talent with a total of 45 titles at club and international level – also outstanding. in world football. Together with his wife Antonela Roccuzzo and their three sons, Messi was reuniting with another memorable photo from his football album, and the party really started in the dressing room.
In Colombia, five people were killed in the fight after the national team won 1-0. “In most cases weapons were involved in stabbings,” news program “Noticias Caracol” quoted Nicolás Rojas, head of the national police, as saying.
With 16 Copa titles, Argentina is now the record champion. After Argentina’s World Cup triumphs in 1978 and 1986, Messi and di María, who scored the 1-0 goal in the Copa final against Brazil in 2021, crowned their golden generation and defended their title. Amidst tears and cheers from the Argentine fans, she was replaced by María in the closing stages. “I am very grateful to this generation for giving me their all and for achieving what I wanted,” he said. “The end was like a movie,” coach Scaloni emphasized.
The question of what happens next with Messi is likely to remain a major concern, not just in Argentine football. His injury went undiagnosed at first, immediately reminding some Argentinians of Diego Maradona’s big ankle at the 1990 World Cup. But Messi could face a longer break first.
But after 186 international games with 109 goals, is he still waiting two years until the World Cup to try his best to defend his title? If it were, there would be a meeting between two generations of football next year. The date and venue of the final have not yet been decided, but both teams: Argentina and Spain are after their European Championship victory against England in Berlin on Sunday.
18 years after a photo session, a possible reunion between Messi and the Spanish shooting star Lamine Yamal from Messi’s favorite club FC Barcelona. In 2007, during a photo shoot, Messi washed Yamal as a child and lovingly held him wrapped in a blanket in his arms.