AA/ Ankara
Argentina became South American champions on Sunday after beating home Brazil 1-0 at Maracana Stadium.
In the opening minutes of the 2021 Copa America final, Brazil’s failed attempts followed one another, with Neymar missing an important opportunity in the 13th minute as well as striker Richarlison in the 20th minute.
On the Argentinian side, Angel Di Maria did not miss an opportunity to score with an excellent pass from Rodrigo De Paul that allowed the Argentines to bring the score to 1-0 in the 21st minute.
Di Maria then missed an opportunity to widen the gap as the Brazilian defense blocked their shot in the 29th minute.
The first half ended with Argentina leading the score, 1-0.
Brazil were more aggressive in the second half.
Argentina’s first major attempt to respond to Argentina’s goal fell through as Richarlison’s goal failed after the referee signaled an offside in the 52nd minute.
The Brazilian striker missed another opportunity to equalize two minutes later, defeated by Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez.
In the 63rd minute, Argentina expected a penalty as Messi had just fallen into the penalty area, but the referee decided to continue play.
In the 81st minute, Nicolas Otamendi’s hard tackle against Neymar sparked a feud between players from both teams and resulted in two yellow cards against Otamendi and Marquinhos.
Brazil’s many attempts were unsuccessful and the 90 minutes ended 1-0.
The Argentine superstar, Lionel Messi thus won his first major international trophy with his national team, following this victory.
Messi notably played for Argentina in the 2014 FIFA World Cup final at the Maracana stadium, but lost to Germany.
Argentina won the Copa America for the fifteenth time on Saturday, sharing that record with Uruguay.
The last Copa America championship won by the Argentines dates back to 1993.
* Translated from English by Ümit Dönmez
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