The Albiceleste will now face South American rivals
Brazil in the Copa America final on Sunday 11 July. The much anticipated clash
will see Messi and Neymar go head-to-head at the Maracana stadium in Rio de
Janeiro.
This will be
Messi’s third consecutive Copa America final appearance with the previous two ending
in defeats against Chile and Brazil.
Argentina accumulated
10 points to top group A consisting of Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay and Bolivia. After
sharing points in the opening game, they went on to win all remaining three group
matches.
The South American
giants had a relatively easy 3-0 victory over Ecuador in the quarter final and capped
it with an impressive semi final win over Columbia.
In all 6 games played, it is quite notable to see how influential the captain Lionel Messi has been for his side after contributing to 9 of the 11 goals Argentina have scored so far in the tournament. The little magician has scored 4 goals and assisted 5 others.
He is currently the top scorer and the only player to have scored a hattrick
so far. He is also the player with the most man of the match awards (4).
Since making
his debut for his national team in August 2005, Messi has been heavily criticised
for his failure to help Argentina to win any major trophy and this Copa America
final presents a perfect opportunity to break the jinx.
Interestingly,
Argentina as a football nation has not won any major international trophy at the
senior level for 28 years and so a huge pressure mounts on the current set of players
to make the nation proud this time around.
Argentina will
come up against the dreaded Brazil who have themselves been very exciting in the
tournament, having won 5 out of the 6 games played so far. Their talisman Neymar
seem to be in great form having scored 2 and assisted 3 others.
It’s going to
be a thrilling encounter as the rivalry to determine who is the best football nation
in South America comes play. More Interestingly will be the reunion of former Barcelona
teammates Messi and Neymar who will this time around play against each other.
A school of thought
believe this will probably be the very last time Messi will get a chance to lift
a trophy for his nation as he is ageing and nearing retirement in few years time.
At age 34, it will be disappointing for the man who has won it all at club level to go another
year without winning a trophy for Argentina.
Not only are
Argentine fans wishing for silverware, a lot of neutrals are hoping for Argentina
triumph because of one man Lionel Messi, who has won many hearts with his splendid
display of magic on a football field.
It is now or
never for Messi and Argentina to break the jinx of trophy drought and make history
for themselves in the Copa America final this weekend.
By: Edward Kyei Frimpong
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