From tears to victory: Lionel Messi once again crowned Copa America champion

MIAMI GARDENS, Florida — Lionel Messi’s tears didn’t last long.

in the 64th minute of Sunday Copa America In the final at the Hard Rock Stadium – which ended with Argentina beating Colombia 1–0 to defend their title – the superstar forward went down with an apparently non-contact right ankle injury, forcing him to leave the match. Had to happen. Colombian defender Johan Mojica immediately came over to see if he was OK, and then both players immediately went to the sideline for the trainers to come out.

After a few minutes of assessment, Messi took off his right shoe and limped off the field. He was stripped of his captain’s armband – which was then given to his close friend Angel Di Maria, who was playing his final match before retiring – and was replaced by Nico González.

TV cameras captured the shocking footage of Messi bawling, his face buried in his hands, as he sat on a bench.

Messi doesn’t like to leave games and it rarely happens, so when he comes out of games, it’s important. After the match, Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni further explained why Messi.

“Leo is the greatest player in history,” Scaloni said. “He never wants to leave the pitch. He has a swollen ankle and he wants to keep playing. I like these types of players.”

“His teammates see that he’s almost 30(years old) and he wants to contribute. He doesn’t want to play because he has an ego. He wants to play because he doesn’t want to let his teammates down. He doesn’t Leave him on the pitch even if he wants to play. He doesn’t like to leave his teammates when he has to stay on the pitch.

Although Messi’s emotions were painful, they were brief.

With the game tied 0–0 in stoppage time, Inter Milan captain Lautaro Martínez scored for Argentina, sealing the win and a bit of history. With this particular title, la albiceleste Became the first team since Spain to win three consecutive major tournament championships. La Rosa Won the 2008 Euro, 2010 World Cup and 2012 Euro. Earlier on Sunday, Spain had won this year’s tournament by defeating England. Argentina has now won the 2021 Copa America, the 2022 World Cup and the 2024 Copa America.

And Messi, playing in front of his adopted hometown Miami on Sunday, did so despite not being 100% healthy. It’s no secret that the 37-year-old player was not at his best this summer. He missed several matches for Inter Miami this season and then missed Argentina’s third group stage match versus Peru due to a right groin/adductor injury. Then in the 36th minute of the final, he beat Santiago Arias to the finish line and tried to receive a cross into the box, but it was awkwardly hit by his right ankle and caught as he rolled out of bounds. After this, Messi was not the same as before and the changes in the second half did him good.

However, despite not being in top form, Argentina still managed to win. In fact, that’s essentially what they’ve been doing throughout the tournament as Messi is no longer the lethal scoring threat he once was. He unexpectedly missed a penalty kick in the quarter-final shootout versus Ecuador and missed several chances in front of goal in both the semi-finals and final. Martínez won the Golden Boot with five goals; Messi scored only once – an insurance goal in the semi-final vs. Canada.

Ever since Argentina won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, there has been speculation about when Messi will retire. Although there are conflicting reports, he is determined to play for Argentina again in 2026 when the World Cup is co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Plus, it seems unbelievable that the viral pictures of Messi’s swollen ankle will be the last time he is seen in a national team jersey. Scaloni joked after the last match that he would “never close the door” to Messi’s career, and “he can stay with our team as long as he wants. And if he wants to retire, but then Also “Come and hang out, it would be great.”

Di Maria also had his moment on Sunday, playing his final game before entering retirement. And both of them, as well as Nicolas Otamendi, hoisted the Copa America trophy together while their teammates jumped up and down behind them.

Messi also jumped up and down a little, though slowly, so as not to trip up his ankle.

But he will have time to fix it later. A full two years if you’re counting the next World Cup.

Lekan Littman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for Fox Sports. He previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of “Strong Like a Woman”, published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow him on Twitter @LakenLitman,

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