Argentina has lifted its 16th Copa America title and its biggest star, Lionel Messi, is likely to bid farewell to international football.
The match in the US city of Miami, which was delayed for more than an hour after thousands of ticketless fans tried to get into the stadium, was a cagey affair for more than 90 minutes but opened up in extra time on Sunday.
Lautaro Martinez, the tournament's top scorer, capitalised on a pinpoint pass from Giovani Lo Celso before lofting his shot over the advancing Colombian goalkeeper Camilo Vargas in the 112th minute to spark wild celebrations among the Argentine fans.
Just inside the penalty area, Martinez sent a right-footed shot between the raised arms of goalkeeper Camilo Vargas for his 29th international goal, his fifth-highest in the tournament.
Argentina's latest title, their 16th Copa triumph, follows wins at the 2022 World Cup and 2021 Copa America and gives eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi the perfect send-off in what could be his final international tournament.
The win also marked Angel Di Maria's final game for Argentina after the 36-year-old said last year he would retire from international football after the Copa del Rey, while defender Nicolas Otamendi, 36, is also set to end his international career.
“The truth is that this was written, it was like this,” Di Maria said. “I dreamed it, I dreamed that I would reach the final and win it and retire in this way.
“I have so many beautiful feelings and I am eternally grateful to this generation and today I leave in this way with a title.”
Messi, playing in his 39th and possibly final Copa America at age 37, scored one goal in the tournament. He fell to the ground after being stamped on in the ankle in the first half but continued in the match.
Messi looked toward the bench as soon as he came onto the field in the second half, seemingly knowing his tournament was over. He took off his right boot on the way out and slammed it in frustration, his ankle looking swollen. With his right foot bare, he stood by the bench and raised his arms as his teammates ran onto the field when Martinez scored.
Crowd control issues
Kick-off was delayed from 8:00 p.m. EDT (00:00 GMT) to 9:22 p.m. (13:22 GMT) due to crowd control issues outside the stadium, with thousands of ticketless fans breaching security gates at a venue that will be used for the 2026 World Cup.
Both national teams had to briefly leave the pitch, while chaos reigned outside. Police managed to close the gates and ordered them to close, leaving some ticket holders outside.
Security began slowly letting fans in around 8:10 p.m., but the commotion didn't stop.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and Public Safety Director James Reyes issued a statement during the game saying the county assigned more than 550 police officers to the stadium crew, in addition to other personnel from neighboring departments.
“Let us be clear: this situation should never have occurred and cannot happen again,” the statement read. “We will work with stadium management to ensure a full review of tonight’s events is conducted immediately to assess the entire chain of events, in order to implement the necessary protocols and policies for all future matches.”
Fans, dressed in uniforms from both teams, began running in multiple directions, some with children on their shoulders. Tickets were not being scanned and few police or stadium officials were seen in the crowd.
Some fans began climbing over fences to gain entry. Three police officers were seen handcuffing a fan with a Colombian flag on a ramp leading to the stadium seats.
A fan named Claudio, who traveled to the game from Mendoza, Argentina, said he couldn't breathe as police tried to control the chaos.
“They can’t organize a World Cup! It’s impossible,” Claudio said in Spanish. “People were stuck at the door for hours, unable to breathe. There was an old man, look at him, look at him.” [motioning at his young son]ran out of water. Without water, nothing.”
More than 65,000 spectators were expected to sell out the South American tournament's championship match. There was a good split in the stands between Argentina and Colombia fans, although there seemed to be more Colombian yellow jerseys.
The incident occurred days after Uruguayan football players clashed with Colombian fans following their defeat in the Copa America semi-finals, and security personnel had to intervene to restore order.
