Sunday’s Copa América final will likely be the last time Lionel Messi plays for Argentina at a major international tournament.
Now 37, Messi admitted after La Albiceleste’s 2-0 win over Canada in the semifinals that “these are the last battles.”
Standing in the way of the defending champion is a historic Colombia team that hasn’t tasted defeat in 28 matches after beating Uruguay 1-0 to reach the final, breaking the previous national unbeaten record of 27 that had stood for 20 years.
Los Cafeteros will be given an additional confidence boost given Argentina and Messi have been below their best during the tournament – Messi scored his first goal against Canada in the semifinal.
However, this feels like a group of players on a mission to give Messi the perfect send off. As was the case in the 2021 Copa América win, which ended an 18-year trophy drought for the national team, this run has felt like a real team effort.
That year, Ángel Di María notably stepped up during the tournament and scored the winning goal in the final, while this edition has seen Lautaro Martínez emerge as the golden boot leader with four goals in five matches.
“There’s a reason Colombia hasn’t lost for such a long time,” Messi told Fox Argentina. “It’s a national team with really good players, is very intense and has fast and dynamic players up front.
“It’s a final and finals are always a different game, but we’re doing well. We’re calm like we have been throughout the tournament, enjoying everything that’s happening to us and thinking about how the final will be.”
After beating Canada, Messi said that “it’s crazy what this group has done.”
“What an enjoyable time,” he told Optus Sports. “We have to enjoy it, everything we are experiencing as a national team, as a community, as a group. As I said, it’s not easy being in another final.
“What we’re doing and what we’ve achieved is very difficult.”
Should Argentina win on Sunday, La Albiceleste would equal Spain’s record between 2008-2012 of winning three straight major international tournaments.
James-led Colombia
For Colombia, the resurgence of James Rodríguez has proven to be crucial not only throughout the unbeaten run, but in particular during this Copa América.
Manager Néstor Lorenzo will likely be in the running for several coach of the year trophies when awards season arrives, and the Argentine recently reiterated the importance of captain and veteran Rodríguez to the team.
The former Real Madrid man has been in and out of the national team in recent years – missing out on the squad for the 2021 Copa América – as his club career stalled following his departure from Los Blancos in 2020.
But in an expanded, free-roaming role at this Copa, Rodríguez has provided six assists – an all-time record for a single edition – including setting up the winner against Uruguay on Wednesday.
“I’ve been here (with the national team) for nearly 13 years wanting this,” Rodríguez told TyC Sports after reaching the final. “We’re very happy.”
Rodríguez recorded a hat trick of assists to go with a goal in a near-perfect individual performance in the 5-0 quarterfinal win over Panama.
Colombia, remarkably, last reached the final in 2001 and the trophy from that year remains the only Copa América title in the country’s history.
Though there won’t be another multi-million dollar transfer to Real Madrid after this tournament, Rodríguez is playing his best football for Los Cafeteros since taking the world by storm at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, during which he won the Golden Boot and scored a Puskás Award-winning goal against Uruguay in the quarterfinals.
Colombia came third in the previous two editions of Copa América and has at least guaranteed itself abetter placing this time around, but Rodríguez – and the rest of the nation – will be feeling confident of toppling defending champion Argentina and being crowned king of the Americas.