By Habeeb Akinfegbe
Thunder had struck twice by the time Chile were crowned champions of the Copa America centenario after defeating Argentina again on penalties in the final of the special Copa America championship.
Chile made it back-to-back Copa America titles after seeing off South American rivals Argentina 4-2 in a penalty shootout in Sunday's ill-tempered final. Both Argentina and Chile were reduced to 10 men in a fiery first half in a rematch of last year's decider, as Marcos Rojo and Marcelo Diaz saw red, and neither team could break the deadlock after 120 minutes of play in front of more than 82,000 fans at MetLife Stadium.
And for the second successive year, a shootout was required to determine a winner, with Chile coming out on top again following spot-kicks as Argentina's 23-year wait for a major trophy continued.
After captain and goalkeeper Claudio Bravo denied Sergio Aguero with a stunning finger-tip save in extra time, he was at it again in the shootout, keeping out Lucas Biglia's effort following Lionel Messi's skied shot over the bar as Francisco Silva stepped up and converted the winning penalty.
The 4-2 shoot-out loss marked a third consecutive defeat in a final for Argentina, beaten last year as well as the 2014 World Cup.
Argentina opened on the front foot, pressuring Chile’s backline from the first whistle. The pressure nearly paid off 20 minutes into the match when a careless turnover by Chile centre-back Gary Medel allowed Argentina’s Gonazalo Higuain clear in on goal, but La Albiceleste’s No9 chipped attempt over Claudio Bravo missed wide.
Minutes later, Nicolas Otamendi flashed a header wide that hit the outside of Bravo’s net, causing confusion among the Argentinian supporters in the stands who believed their central defender had put La Albiceleste into an early lead. The match took a significant turn less than half an hour into proceedings when Marcelo Diaz picked up a second yellow card for bringing down Argentina captain Messi, after having earned his first caution in similar fashion 12 minutes prior to his sending off. However, Argentina did not hold onto their numerical advantage for long as Marcos Rojo was shown a straight red card for his tackle on Arturo Vidal only minutes before half-time. The first 45 minutes came to a close with neither side able to break through, largely a result of the stop-start nature of the game.
Second-half substitute Sergio Aguero had a chance to win it six minutes from full-time after beating Chile’s last defender, but the Manchester City hitman sent his shot well high and wide of the goal. A last-gasp effort from La Roja nearly won it before the final whistle but Alexis Sanchez’s close range effort was well blocked by Ramiro Funes Mori, which sparked a quick counter-attack from Argentina and a solo run by Messi, whose shot screamed wide.
The
first round of penalties went begging as Romero saved Vidal’s effort
before Messi fired over the bar. The second round was far more emphatic
as Nicolas Castillo and Javier Mascherano both converted with
authoritative strikes. Two rounds of successful penalties followed
before Jean Beausejour finished for Chile as Bravo denied Biglia. Silva
then stepped up for Chile and slotted home to ignite Chilean
celebrations.
La Albiceleste have now lost three major finals in three years starting from Brazil 2014 World Cup to last year's regular Copa America edition and a frustrated Lionel Messi declared that he is planning to retire from international football following Argentina's loss to Chile in the Copa America Centenario final.
"The national team is over for me. That's four finals [lost]; it's not for me," Messi told reporters after losing his third final in as many years. "The decision is made, I think."
Sunday's match finished without a goal and went to a penalty shootout, with Messi missing his spot kick on the way to a 4-2 defeat.
It was the second time in as many years that Chile beat Argentina on penalties in the Copa, which itself followed the Albiceleste's
loss to Germany in the World Cup final in 2014. Messi also was part of
the Argentina side who lost to Brazil in the final of the Copa America in 2007. It was gathered that Messi has been locked in a dispute with officials at the Argentine Football Association, taking his frustration to social media prior to the final, but his own performance in Sunday's final also seemed to be weighing on him after the contest. "I feel a great sadness right now that this is happening again," he
said. "I missed my penalty, which was super important. That's it."
Argentina's attention automatically shifts to the next matches in World Cup qualification ahead of the 2018 tournament in Russia. Gerardo Martino's men sit third in the CONMEBOL pool after six matches.
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Chile made it back-to-back Copa America titles after seeing off South American rivals Argentina 4-2 in a penalty shootout in Sunday's ill-tempered final. Both Argentina and Chile were reduced to 10 men in a fiery first half in a rematch of last year's decider, as Marcos Rojo and Marcelo Diaz saw red, and neither team could break the deadlock after 120 minutes of play in front of more than 82,000 fans at MetLife Stadium.
And for the second successive year, a shootout was required to determine a winner, with Chile coming out on top again following spot-kicks as Argentina's 23-year wait for a major trophy continued.
After captain and goalkeeper Claudio Bravo denied Sergio Aguero with a stunning finger-tip save in extra time, he was at it again in the shootout, keeping out Lucas Biglia's effort following Lionel Messi's skied shot over the bar as Francisco Silva stepped up and converted the winning penalty.
The 4-2 shoot-out loss marked a third consecutive defeat in a final for Argentina, beaten last year as well as the 2014 World Cup.
Argentina opened on the front foot, pressuring Chile’s backline from the first whistle. The pressure nearly paid off 20 minutes into the match when a careless turnover by Chile centre-back Gary Medel allowed Argentina’s Gonazalo Higuain clear in on goal, but La Albiceleste’s No9 chipped attempt over Claudio Bravo missed wide.
Minutes later, Nicolas Otamendi flashed a header wide that hit the outside of Bravo’s net, causing confusion among the Argentinian supporters in the stands who believed their central defender had put La Albiceleste into an early lead. The match took a significant turn less than half an hour into proceedings when Marcelo Diaz picked up a second yellow card for bringing down Argentina captain Messi, after having earned his first caution in similar fashion 12 minutes prior to his sending off. However, Argentina did not hold onto their numerical advantage for long as Marcos Rojo was shown a straight red card for his tackle on Arturo Vidal only minutes before half-time. The first 45 minutes came to a close with neither side able to break through, largely a result of the stop-start nature of the game.
Second-half substitute Sergio Aguero had a chance to win it six minutes from full-time after beating Chile’s last defender, but the Manchester City hitman sent his shot well high and wide of the goal. A last-gasp effort from La Roja nearly won it before the final whistle but Alexis Sanchez’s close range effort was well blocked by Ramiro Funes Mori, which sparked a quick counter-attack from Argentina and a solo run by Messi, whose shot screamed wide.
The
first round of penalties went begging as Romero saved Vidal’s effort
before Messi fired over the bar. The second round was far more emphatic
as Nicolas Castillo and Javier Mascherano both converted with
authoritative strikes. Two rounds of successful penalties followed
before Jean Beausejour finished for Chile as Bravo denied Biglia. Silva
then stepped up for Chile and slotted home to ignite Chilean
celebrations.La Albiceleste have now lost three major finals in three years starting from Brazil 2014 World Cup to last year's regular Copa America edition and a frustrated Lionel Messi declared that he is planning to retire from international football following Argentina's loss to Chile in the Copa America Centenario final.
"The national team is over for me. That's four finals [lost]; it's not for me," Messi told reporters after losing his third final in as many years. "The decision is made, I think."
Sunday's match finished without a goal and went to a penalty shootout, with Messi missing his spot kick on the way to a 4-2 defeat.
 |
| A devastated Messi |
Argentina's attention automatically shifts to the next matches in World Cup qualification ahead of the 2018 tournament in Russia. Gerardo Martino's men sit third in the CONMEBOL pool after six matches.
FOLLOW US ON
Twitter: @bizarre_comms
Facebook: Bizarre Communications
Email: bizarrecommunications@gmail.com
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