The 2024 Copa America final will be Messi’s final major competition in an Argentina shirt.
Will Messi’s Argentina or James Rodriguez’s Colombia take the top spot at Copa America 2024?
Argentina and Colombia have both proven themselves to be the strongest teams on the pitch since the tournament began, eliminating other strong teams such as Brazil, Uruguay and Venezuela to meet in the final of the 2024 Copa America .
Star strikers such as Colombia’s James Rodriguez and Argentina’s Lionel Messi will compete in Florida to find the owner of the championship trophy.
Colombia and Argentina’s journey to the final
Argentina
Defending champions Argentina faced newcomers Canada in the tournament’s opening match and secured a 2-0 victory for the home side.
They then went on to beat Chile 1-0 and secure early qualification to Group A. Argentina’s 2-0 win over Peru saw them finish the group stage unbeaten.
In the quarter-finals, coach Lionel Scaloni’s team drew 1-1 with Ecuador before winning 4-2 on penalties.
Next, in the semi-finals, Argentina played Canada again and defeated their opponent 2-0 to reach the final.
Colombia
Colombia came into the tournament and made an early statement, beating Paraguay 2-1. They then beat Costa Rica 3-0 and drew 1-1 with Brazil to top Group D.
In the knockout stages, Néstor Lorenzo’s men had the biggest win of the 2024 tournament against Panama (5-0) before beating Uruguay 1-0 in the semi-finals.
This is the third time Colombia has reached the Copa America final and set a record for the team’s longest unbeaten streak in history (28 matches).
Messi scores to help Argentina reach Copa America 2024 final
Head to head history, chances of winning
Colombia have won just once in their last 12 meetings with Argentina (5 draws, 6 losses) – a 2-0 win in the 2019 Copa America group stage.
In the most recent draw between the two teams, Colombia lost on penalties in the semi-finals of the Copa 2021, with Davinson Sánchez, Yerry Mina and Edwin Cardona all missing from the spot.
The two teams have met 15 times before at the Copa America, with Argentina winning seven, losing three and drawing five times with Colombia.
The Opta supercomputer predicts that Argentina have a 50.9% chance of beating Colombia in 90 minutes and a 63.0% chance of lifting the Copa America trophy. Meanwhile, Colombia are given a 25.4% chance of winning.
“One of a kind” things at the Copa America 2024 final
Pop star Shakira has confirmed that she will perform at half-time during the Argentina-Colombia match. She will perform songs from her album Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran. The half-time break will last up to 30 minutes, allowing fans to enjoy this amazing musical performance.
Messi has his final battle at Copa America – Photo: COPA AMERICA 2024
The owner of eight Golden Balls – Lionel Messi will fight the “final battle” on the international arena at the Copa America 2024 final. Messi’s announcement to play his last match at the international tournament is also part of the reason why ticket prices for the Copa America 2024 final have skyrocketed.
