Copa America 2024: Lautaro Martinez wins after crowd unrest marries the end as Argentina defeats Colombia 1-0 (AET)
Lautaro Martinez's goal in extra time gave Argentina their record 16th Copa America title; the match was delayed for more than an hour due to thousands of supporters attempting to enter the stadium without tickets; Martinez's goal set off wild celebrations at Hard Rock Stadium following Lionel Messi's previous injury.
Argentina defeated Colombia 1-0 and captured a record-tying 16th Copa America championship thanks to a goal by Lautaro Martinez deep into extra time.
Midway through the second half, Argentina's captain, Lionel Messi, suffered an injury that left him in tears. The match was postponed for over an hour due to crowd disturbances, but Martinez came off the bench in the final 30 minutes to guarantee his captain would win a third major championship in a row.
The victory in Miami came after the World Cup victory in 2022 and the Copa America victory in 2021.
The Hard Rock Stadium, one of the venues for the 2026 World Cup, had its gates barred by security when spectators tried to enter without tickets, therefore the game started an hour and twenty minutes later than scheduled.
When it did began, Colombia enjoyed the better start as Luis Diaz of Liverpool forced Camilo Vargas into an early stop and Jhon Cordoba smacked a post. Manchester City's Julian Alvarez had an early chance for the reigning winners.
Messi, who appeared to have injured his ankle before halftime, attempted to swing in a free kick that Nicolas Tagliafico headed over, but Alvarez unintentionally blocked it.
Both sides had periods of possession in the second half, but neither was able to take the lead. In his final international game, Angel Di Maria forced two saves out of Vargas.
Just after the hour had passed, Messi went down again and was unable to get up, walking off to watch in tears from the bench.
Gonzalez had the finest opportunity of the first extra time period, but after Rodrigo De Paul's cut-back, he could only shoot straight at Vargas.
As time ran out, Lisandro Martinez delivered a superb block on Miguel Borja, and Argentina took the lead shortly after.
After De Paul regained the ball close to halfway, he found Lautaro Martinez, who passed to Giovani Lo Celso, another replacement, and scored the goal of the tournament to stop Colombia's run of 28 consecutive victories.
