With Argentina having scored 18 goals in their five Copa matches so far, including four times in each of their past two games, and Chile’s attack in good form, it is hard to envision another goal-less stalemate.
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Just another meticulous performance for Chile in Copa America.
FC Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi has slammed the Argentine Football Association ahead of the Copa America final on Sunday night.
Maradona amped up the rhetoric this week shortly after Argentina booked their place in the final with a 4-0 demolition of the United States.
Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Charles Aranguiz opened the scoring in the seventh minute before Jose Pedro Fuenzalida made it 2-0 after 11 minutes.
Argentina defeated the USA 4-0 in Tuesday’s semifinal, while Chile defeated Colombia 2-0 in a weather-delayed semifinal on Wednesday to determine the entrants for the final and third-place game. In a highly entertaining game, Argentina will edge Chile for the championship.
Twelve months ago, Chile unleashed midfield enforcer on Messi during the final in Santiago, effectively neutralising the threat of the Argentina captain.
Argentina – seeking to end their 23-year wait for a major title – will face defending champions Chile in a rematch of last year’s final at MetLife Stadium.
Messi is considered by many to be the best player in the world, but success on the worldwide stage has eluded him to this point in his career. On June 13, Uruguay defeated Jamaica 3-0; Argentina defeated Chile 2-1 on June 6; and the United States lost 2-0 to Colombia on June 3, the first game of the tournament.
This also marks the 30th anniversary of Maradona’s famous goal against England, often regarded as the goal of the century, that eventually helped Argentina win the World Cup in 1986.
Any doubt about who carries the mantle as the best player in soccer has been quelled during this tournament.
“[On possibly losing a third straight final with Argentina], I don’t know if it’d be a failure”.
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Yet the only hole in the Barcelona superstar’s CV – a major tournament title with Argentina – is invariably, and somewhat unfairly, cited as a justification to delay his elevation to football’s pantheon.
