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Lionel Messi was all smiles. Argentina had just exited Canada to force passage to another grand final. Their team’s ruthless form of the past five years was maintained and the belief reinforced that they will retain the Copa America title they won four years ago.
“This is so beautiful and it is something we must appreciate,” Messi said. “I said that playing another final, playing four consecutive finals… what this group of players is doing is something to be proud of. We must appreciate and acknowledge it.”
There is now little doubt that this group of players – led by Messi, their venerable captain – is the best Argentine team of all time.
The defending Copa champions have lost just twice in 61 matches, a streak that stretches back half a decade. In that time they have won the 2021 Copa America, the 2022 World Cup and the inaugural Finalissima against European champions Italy in 2023. By beating Canada 2-0 on Tuesday night at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, already confirmed as the venue for the 2026 World Cup final, Argentina is 90 minutes away from another major tournament trophy.
MetLife Stadium witnesses Argentina’s best ever team (Stephen Nadler/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
Messi has now led his national team to seven finals. But before lifting the Copa America trophy in 2021, he had suffered nothing but crushing defeats on the biggest stages. clouded his legacy with Argentina.
The 2014 team that lost to Germany in a World Cup final that took extra time featured many of the same players who went on to lose the 2015 and 2016 Copa America finals. Messi has done that in recent years has made an effort to honor the teams and players considered losers by Argentina’s fanatical football culture. Today, Argentina’s players are national heroes who have shown a relentless hunger to win.
The stadiums they have played in in the United States during the three weeks of this tournament so far have been filled to the brim with fans dressed in blue and white. Back in Buenos Aires, the country is eager to celebrate another title. This team is believed to have fortune on their side, unlike the sides that faltered in their biggest moments before 2021.
“We have done this before and it was not appreciated, maybe because we were not lucky enough to win,” Messi said. “Those teams also played the Copa America and World Cup finals. But now we have to enjoy this moment.
Messi laughed in New Jersey on Tuesday evening (Elsa/Getty Images)
“The people (of Argentina) deserve to stick out their chests and enjoy this Argentina national team and all its achievements. We’re in the final again and we’re still in it.”
Messi scored Argentina’s second goal against Canada to take his international tally to 109 – the second highest of all time, behind Cristiano Ronaldo’s 130 for Portugal. It was actually his first goal of the tournament, reflecting that this was an unremarkable Copa America for the Argentine talisman.
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An adductor injury (groin injury), suffered during Argentina’s second match of the group stage, forced him to miss one match. However, Argentina continued without him, easily winning their group. That’s what makes this Argentina team special. They are deep in almost every position.
A player like Julian Alvarez can be swapped for Serie A top scorer Lautaro Martinez if necessary. The backline is as solid as any group of defenders in the world, led by Tottenham’s Cristian Romero. They have full-backs with different profiles; Nahuel Molina and Marcos Acuna are confident defenders, while Gonzalo Montiel and Nicolas Tagliafico are striking bulldogs.
The Argentinian midfield is the strength of the team. Rodrigo De Paul, in tears after the final whistle due to the physical sacrifice the match against Canada required, plays alongside two Premier League No 8s in Alexis Mac Allister and Enzo Fernandez. Both players attack and defend tenaciously, allowing Messi and Angel Di Maria to choose their moments to press and focus on creating chances.
Di Maria will retire after this tournament (Pablo Morano/BSR Agency/Getty Images)
Since head coach Lionel Scaloni took over in 2019, Argentina has been characterized by depth and tactical flexibility, while maintaining an identity focused on dominating possession and controlling games from start to finish. Di Maria has publicly said that he will retire from international football after this Copa America. The 36-year-old now has a unique opportunity to walk away after winning another trophy.
“I don’t think I could have dreamed this,” Di Maria said. “I am so grateful to this generation of players because it is thanks to them that I have been able to achieve all this. It is thanks to them that my last match with the national team will be a final.
“There have been bad times – sometimes you have to be persuaded. But this is how it was supposed to end. That I will lift the (World Cup) trophy and play in a final again with this shirt.”
Messi, who turned 37 last month, called this moment in his career, and that of Di Maria and veteran defender Nicolas Otamendi, also 36, “our last battles”. On Tuesday, he emphasized that the road to continued success has been difficult. Argentina is not a team that puts its opponents to flight. Every match is filled with tension and fear, followed by a celebratory roar as Argentina’s goals find the opponent’s net.
On the other side of the field, Argentina has a goalkeeper who is almost impossible to beat. Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez gives the current world champion an edge that makes him easy to dislike. Badness in sports is a sign of success. But as he grinned widely at MetLife Stadium after the game, Martinez seemed impressed by his team’s dominance.
“I can’t believe it, I can’t believe this,” he said. “You have to believe in it, but keep your feet on the ground, with the mentality that this is all possible.”
When asked if he thought Argentina were the best team in the tournament, Martinez humbly shook his head. “There are a lot of good teams,” Martinez said. “Look at Brazil (away in the quarter-finals). The fields (used for this Copa) are broken and any team can challenge you. Uruguay looks very good and Colombia has not lost in almost thirty games. (These two sides meet in the second semi-final on Wednesday evening). It will be tough.”
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Scaloni himself teetered on the edge of despair, even as Argentina continued to win. He almost walked away from the national team last November, after a historic World Cup qualifying victory over Brazil in Rio de Janeiro. “I have to stop the ball and start thinking. I have a lot of things to think about during this time,” Scaloni said at the time.
After last night’s win over Canada, Scaloni looked like a coach who had regained his purpose. He was visibly delighted. “We’ve had a lot of success and that makes everything harder – it costs so much more,” he said. Scaloni refuted all questions about Argentina’s impressive run of three consecutive wins in the final. “We are focused on winning this last.”
Scaloni has gained new energy (Stephen Nadler/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
Scaloni told reporters that Messi’s future will be determined by the player. He and his staff will never close the door on the veteran. Scaloni even emphasized that Messi can remain part of the national team for as long as he wants. “I take it with me when I go somewhere else,” Scaloni said. “He would be a great help to me, but it’s up to him.”
Just feet away, surrounded by hordes of reporters from around the world, Messi continued to enjoy the spotlight.
It must be incredibly hard for him to even consider walking away from this. He adores this group of players and they in turn idolize him. A victory in the Copa America final on Sunday (early Monday UK time) in Miami, where he now plays his club football with Inter Miami of the MLS, could be the catalyst that extends Messi’s international career until the 2026 World Cup, which is co-organized by the United States, Canada and Mexico. Alternatively, a fourth straight trophy could prompt him to hang up his boots as a hero.
For now, Messi is as happy as he has ever been, and that includes the country of Argentina.
“Argentinians love this national team and love football,” Messi added. “This group (of players) has cherished that relationship for a long time. We won important things and these players continue to compete match after match. We don’t always play well, but our willingness to compete is spectacular.
“Let’s enjoy this moment, but also appreciate what started eight years ago.”
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Argentina 2-0 Canada: Messi scores, Argentina advances to the Copa America final
(Top photo: Sarah Stier/Getty Images)