Copa America: a dream final

We have been talking a lot about the Euro for a month, and another very tough competition, the Copa America, has gone a little unnoticed during this time. The final between Argentina and Brazil, at the Maracana stadium in Rio, on Saturday night, should be a game-changer.

The Copa America is to Conmebol what the Euro is to UEFA. It is the Continental Championship of the South American Football Confederation, a century-old competition that has existed since 1916, although it has undergone changes over the years.

With fewer nations, the Copa America is also contested in a group stage format, but with two groups from five countries rather than six pools from four nations.

And we can tell you that the competition is tough since out of the ten participating countries, only Bolivia has not been able to collect points.

Not dominant

Saturday night, the duel pits two old enemy brothers, either Neymar’s Brazil and Lionel Messi’s Argentina.

If everyone finished at the top of their group, it cannot be said that one or the other flew over the competition.

Argentina and Brazil finished the group stage with an identical record of three wins and one draw. Argentina scored seven goals and allowed two. Brazil were a little more efficient offensively with ten goals against two also allowed.

One of the two teams suffered a first setback at the end of Saturday night’s game, but the course was not a good straight, apart from a 4-0 against Peru and a 3-0 against Venezuela for Brazil.

Argentina only had one “easy” game in the group stage, a 4-1 against Bolivia.

Arduous

The elimination phase was a little more complex for both of them.

Brazil initially disposed of Chile by a small 1-0 in the quarter-finals, playing half the game with one man short due to a red card given to Gabriel Jesus in the 48^e minute. The card came just two minutes after the game’s only goal.

Argentina won 3-0 against Ecuador, but the score is misleading as the second goal was scored in the 84^e minute and the third in added time.

In the semifinals, Brazil severely disposed of Peru by a score of 1-0, having to defend their lead for nearly an hour.

As for Argentina, it needed the penalty shootout (3 to 2) to defeat Colombia, who came back from behind to make 1 to 1 per hour of play.

Rivalry

Brazil will play at home, at the Maracana stadium, but the advantage will not be huge since the Rio region was hit hard by COVID-19: only 10% of the 78,000 seats will be occupied.

Where Brazil has the advantage is in the number of victories in the recent past.

Indeed, Argentina is the second most successful country in the history of the competition with 14 titles (Uruguay has 15) against 9 for Brazil.

However, Argentina has not lifted the precious trophy since 1993, which is 28 years. This is a figure that is familiar to Quebec sports fans.

On the other hand, Brazil has been very successful in those 28 years, winning five of the nine tournaments presented between 1997 and 2019.

During that time, Argentina have made four finals, losing to Brazil twice.

The question now is whether the Brazilian domination will continue or if Argentina will finally break the curse and come home with the cup for the first time since 1993. As Montrealers, we wish them that.

Face to face

A confrontation in the final of the Copa America is above all a meeting between Lionel Messi and Neymar. The Argentinian is generally low-key while the Brazilian is generally more flamboyant. Comparisons between two players who carry their nation on their shoulders. The two were teammates at Barcelona from 2013 to 2017. They share the distinction of never having won the World Cup or the Copa America.

Lionel Messi