Argentina, Colombia meet in Copa America final on TSN
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Lionel Scaloni’s Argentina side is on the precipice of history as it gears up to take on Colombia in the 2024 Copa America final on Sunday night in Miami.
A victory will give the Albiceleste a 16th South American championship, breaking the tie with Uruguay for the most ever. Argentina would also become just the fourth team to win consecutive Copas, but the first squad ever to win back-to-back tournaments with a World Cup triumph in between. The only team in the world to have done something comparable was Spain in winning Euro 2008, followed by the 2010 World Cup before winning Euro 2012.
What stands in Argentina’s way is a scrappy Las Cafateras side set to play in just their third Copa final and first since they won their only championship, on home soil in Bogota, in 2001. That side was captained by the great Ivan Cordoba, who would famously go on to win a treble at Inter in 2009 under Jose Mourinho. With a squad filled with players who have won domestic titles all over Europe and the Champions League, Nestor Lorenzo’s team will look to capture its first international honour in a generation.
There will be added motivation for the Albiceleste when they take the pitch at Hard Rock Stadium. The match will be the legendary Angel Di Maria’s final game in an Argentina shirt. The Benfica winger, who made his senior debut for the national team in 2008, announced last year that he would retire internationally after the Copa.
“It's my last battle,” the 36-year-old Di Maria said after Argentina’s 2-0 win over Canada in the semifinals. “There's nothing left to say that I haven't said a lot of times before. It's my last game. I have to say thank you to all Argentinians and to this generation that has allowed me to lift so many trophies. I'm not ready for my last game in the national team, but it's time. Whatever happens in the final, I think I can leave through the front door. I gave everything. I always gave my life for this jersey."
While Di Maria is set to say goodbye, on the other side of the pitch will be a man who has turned back the clock at Copa. Now 32, James Rodriguez has put on a performance for the ages this summer. Once the brightest star in the Colombia setup, Rodriguez has seen it dim over the course of the past several years after fallings out with a number of coaches. Following a star-making turn at the 2014 World Cup that saw him move from Monaco to Real Madrid, his fortunes have ebbed and flowed with the national side. It appeared that his international career had come to an ignominious end when he was frozen out of the team and left off of the Copa roster in 2021. With Las Cafateras missing the World Cup in 2022, the door appeared to have been closed entirely.
Now in Brazil with Sao Paulo, the former Bayern Munich and Everton man was handed a surprise call-up by Lorenzo for a June friendly. He was then named to the squad for the Copa and Rodriguez has made the best of it. Through five matches, Rodriguez has produced a tournament-record six assists. Upon reaching the final with a 1-0 win over Uruguay, Rodriguez was overcome by emotion.
“I’ve wanted this for almost 13 years,” Rodriguez told reporters after the match. “We’re happy.”
Both managers enter the match with virtually their entire squads at their disposal. Any fitness concerns for Lionel Messi were assuaged when he played a full 90 minutes and scored a goal in the 2-0 win over Canada in the semis. But Colombia will be without Crystal Palace’s Daniel Munoz who was sent off in the win over Uruguay. Veteran Santiago Arias, who previously played at PSV, Atletico and Cincinnati, will likely get the nod in his place at right-back.
Sunday night’s match will be the 16th time the two sides have met at a South American championship, but the first time in a final. Argentina is 10-2-3 in their previous encounters. The last time the two teams played at a Copa was in 2021 in the semis. After Lautaro Martinez, who currently leads the Golden Boot race with four goals, opened the scoring in the seventh minute, Luis Diaz answered back in the 61st for Colombia. When 90 minutes and an additional 30 didn’t solve anything, the two teams went to penalties, where Emi Martinez put on a show. The Argentina keeper made saves on Davinson Sanchez, Yerry Mina and Edwin Cardona as the Albiceleste claimed a 1-1 (3-2 on penalties) victory.
POTENTIAL COLOMBIA XI (4-2-3-1): Camilo Vargas; Santiago Arias, Davinson Sanchez, Carlos Cuesta, Johan Mojica; Richard Rios, Jefferson Lerma; James Rodriguez, Luis Diaz; Jhon Cordoba
POTENTIAL ARGENTINA XI (4-3-3): Emi Martinez; Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Nicolas Tagliafico; Rodrigo De Paul, Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister; Angel Di Maria, Lionel Messi, Julian Alvarez