After this tournament, Messi—possibly the greatest player of all time—might never suit up for his nation again.
Miami The much awaited Copa América final in soccer will bring together superstar sportsmen, ardent supporters, and yes, even Shakira on Sunday. Argentina, the defending World Cup and Copa América champion, takes on fellow heavyweight Colombia at Hard Rock Stadium at 8 p.m. ET to cap out the legendary competition that brought together teams from South America, Central America, North America, and the Caribbean.
Tickets for what would be an exciting showdown any year were starting at $1,600 as of Thursday night, according to resale website StubHub. This occasion, however, is unique since it might be Lionel Messi’s final significant performance for Argentina, the global superstar.
“I am relishing every moment of these final encounters,” Messi declared following Tuesday’s semifinal victory over Canada. The next World Cup won’t be held for nearly two years, and the Inter Miami striker has dropped out of the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
“Let us savor it,” Messi continued. “Let’s take pleasure in everything that we are going through as a nation, as a community, and as a group.”
Known as maybe the greatest soccer player of all time, Messi, 37, joins Major League Soccer in 2023 following over 20 seasons at Barcelona and two seasons at Paris Saint-Germain. As the world’s finest player, he has received a record eight Ballon d’Or medals. He has also assisted Barcelona in four UEFA Champions League victories. But in 2022, he played a major role in Argentina’s World Cup victory.
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Messi and Argentina will take on a fiery Colombian team, captained by James Rodríguez, a midfield sensation. His club, which has won 28 games in a row dating back to February 2022, may be in danger if defender Daniel Muñoz is out. After an incident and second yellow card in the first half of Colombia’s 1-0 semifinal victory over Uruguay on Wednesday night, he was sent off.
At Charlotte, North Carolina’s Bank of America Stadium, the game concluded with fireworks, and not just on the field. Following the final whistle, there was scuffle between the sides until a few Uruguayan national team players climbed into the stands and started fighting with spectators.
José María Giménez, a defender for Uruguay, stated that his team was defending family members who were sitting in a section with Colombian supporters.
“This is a catastrophe. This is a catastrophe. We are in danger, our family,” he declared. To save our loved ones who were giving birth, we had to climb to the top of the stands as soon as possible. It was all a catastrophe. Not a single police officer was present. Thirty minutes later, police showed up.
Bank of America Stadium informed NBC News that tournament organizers handled event arrangements, thus Charlotte police declined to comment.
Copa América organizers announced in a statement that an investigation has “opened” and that “no action that tarnishes this global football celebration will be tolerated.” It is intolerable when anything like this escalates anger into violence.
The U.S. was supposed to use the tournament as a coming-out celebration, but on June 27, they lost 2-1 to Panama and then 1-0 to Uruguay. Coach Gregg Berhalter lost his job as a result of the outcome, which eliminated his club. The U.S. Soccer Federation made the termination announcement on Wednesday as a result of the underwhelming results.
“We have already started our search process, and our immediate focus is on finding a coach who can maximize our potential as we continue to prepare for the 2026 World Cup,” U.S. Soccer Sporting Director Matt Crocker stated in a statement.
SOURCE : NBC NEWS
