Nearly a month of incredible football and it’s the Final that every footballing fan wanted, as Brazil take on Argentina in a heavily anticipated clash for South American Glory.
The script has been written, and everything has gone to plan. The final which the football world so desperately wanted is here. Its Messi vs Neymar, its Argentina vs Brazil in what could be a historic game of immense magnitude.
Brazil faced Peru in the first semi-final and managed to seal victory by a meagre goal. As expected, Neymar Jr. was the standout performer and he also got the assist for Lucas Paqueta’s winner. The Selecao reigned supreme in the first half playing beautiful football but could not carry forward their momentum in the second period. Fortunately for them though, the Peruvians’ failure to convert their chances meant Brazil booked a spot in the final.
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Argentina’s penultimate match was not as straight forward as their counterparts. They were made to work throughout the game. They took an early lead against Colombia thanks to Lautaro Martinez, and then sat back. Columbia equalised at the hour mark and Argentina were back to square one. Lionel Messi seemed to be doing everything through the ninety minutes – mazy runs, picking out passes, finding pockets of space, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough and the winner was going to be decided from twelve yards. Up stepped Emiliano Martinez, the Argentine keeper who oozed confidence under pressure through the shootout. Saving three penalties, it was not as much what he did but how he did it. Trash talking the Columbian players and playing mind games with every single one of them. It is an extremely rare aspect to see between the posts in such high pressure moments, but Emi Martinez was ice cold at that moment.
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Brazil and Argentina have had similar tournaments. Both teams finished on ten points in the group stage winning three and drawing one, both teams had close semi-finals and both teams have their number 10s firing on all cylinders. Messi and Neymar have grabbed this Copa América by the throat, dropping masterclass after masterclass in every match and now the two friends are set to lock horns in the final.
For Brazil, winning back-to-back Copas at home would be nothing short of sensational. While for Argentina, they’ll be looking to get rid of their past demons and take sweet revenge on Brazil for the 2019 Copa América loss and moreover, for Messi, who looks like he wants this more than anything. Two titans of international football and two eternal rivals will battle it out in one final which is sure to be an absolute thriller.
[Image Credit: Copa América]
Aarya Bhagwat