Argentina wins record 16th Copa America title, beats Colombia 1-0

Argentina won its second straight Copa America championship overcoming Lionel Messis secondhalf leg injury to beat Colombia 10 on Lautaro Martiacutenezs 112thminute goalMessi appeared to sustain a noncontact injury while running and falling in the 64th minute and covered his face with his hands as he sat on the bench and sobbed on Sunday nightMartiacutenez later ran to that bench to hug his captain after the goal that propelled Argentina to its record 16th Copa titleIn a match that started 1 hour 22 minutes late because of crowd trouble at Hard Rock Stadium Argentina won its third straight major title following the 2021 Copa America and 2022 World Cup and matched Spain which won the 2008 and 2012 European Championships around the 2010 World CupArgentina also stopped Colombias 28game unbeaten streak dating to a February 2022 loss to the Albiceleste during the Copa America finalMartiacutenez entered in the 97th minute and scored from Giovani Lo Celsos perfect through pass Just inside the penalty area Martiacutenez sent a rightfoot shot through the upraised arms of sliding goalkeeper Camilo Vargas for his 29th international goal his tournamenthigh fifthMaking his 39th and possibly last Copa America appearance at age 37 Messi had one goal in the tournament He went down after an ankle was stepped on in the first half but remained in the gameAlso Read Lionel Messi fans in Kolkata celebrate Argentina maestros 37th birthday with 80pound cakeThe eighttime Ballon dOr winner looked to the bench as soon as he fell to the field in the second half appearing to know his tournament was over He took off his right boot as he walked off and slammed it frustration and his ankle appeared to swellThe start was delayed from 8 pm EDT to 922 pm because of crowd control issues outside the stadium including troves of fans breaching security gates at a venue to be used for the 2026 World CupDays after Uruguay players were involved in a brawl with Colombia fans following their semifinal match in Charlotte North Carolina video showed fans climbing fences and railings to get inside the championship match with officials unable to keep track of who had purchased tickets and who didntColombia was more aggressive and forced goalkeeper Emiliano Martiacutenez to make four saves in the first half but Argentina began to threaten more in the secondNicolaacutes Tagliafico thought he scored in the 75th minute but was ruled offside Nicolaacutes Gonzaacutelez who replaced Messi was stopped by Vargas in the 95th minuteNumerous players lost their footing during the second half of Sundays Copa America final The grass was heavily watered with sprinklers following the halftime performance by Colombian pop star Shakira which caused an extended halftime breakWith agency inputs