Argentines taking to the streets to revel in their Copa América triumph inhabit a very different place now than they did 19 months ago, when their World Cup win sent millions surging into the same Buenos Aires square in a howl of collective celebration.

“Glorious,” Diego Cáceres, 38, recalled of Argentina’s massive open-air party on December 18, 2022.

“This is beautiful, too,” he said of Sunday’s crowds cheering and setting off fireworks around the capital’s landmark obelisk after Argentina beat Colombia 1-0 in extra time to win its third straight major tournament Sunday night.

“But it’s a cherry-on-top, or a reminder. It makes me want to go back in time.”

Poverty stricken

Economic crisis has stalked Argentina for years. But today, annual inflation tops 270%. Almost 60% of the country’s 45 million people live in poverty.

Argentines have become worn out by the high-stakes anxiety of the news: Anti-government protests raging, labor strikes paralyzing cities, President Javier Milei, a self-described “anarcho-capitalist,” unveiling new spending cuts. This week their televisions flashed dire warnings about the peso hitting new lows against the dollar, dragging the value of their savings down with it.

The last time Cáceres celebrated his national team in this downtown square, he worked as a cook in various restaurants and rented an apartment. Today, he said, he’s unemployed and sleeps on the streets.

“Everything is horrible now,” he said after the game finally got underway in Miami after repeated delays due to fan congestion.

“Just when you think things can’t get more expensive, they do.”

Crisis after triumph

Some in this superstitious nation joke that they paid a steep price in Qatar for their first World Cup victory since 1986, pointing to the crises that followed the triumph.

“Has anyone checked the terms and conditions of winning the Copa América?” reads one post on X widely shared among Argentines. “I don’t know if I’m up for a second round of winning at any cost.”

But Argentines say that they needed this tournament, and this trophy, more than they could have imagined. For Argentina, South America’s biggest football championship offered not just glorious achievement but exquisite, if fleeting, escape.

“It’s our best entertainment, that’s what makes it so important,” said Erika Maya, a 47-year-old homeless mother of six, as she peered at the televised match through the glass of a locked restaurant door. “You can forget everything that’s going on, and just enjoy.”

Messi-inspired respite

For every new outrage over the last 24 days, Argentines have found the respite of obsessively watching their beloved national team, led by Lionel Messi, play for an hour and a half, generating moments of agony and excitement that reverberate all over this football-crazed country.

“Football is the fruit of our society, it’s what we’re proud of, it’s what we give to the world,” said 21-year-old soldier Fabrizo Diaz, who watched the match with his girlfriend.

As the game kicked off at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, restaurants in Buenos Aires shuttered, streets emptied and the sprawling city fell eerily silent, with most Argentines in thrall to their TVs at home as though under a COVID lockdown. The looming specter of Messi’s retirement has heightened football fever in recent weeks, with the 37-year-old captain’s noncommittal muses in televised interviews inducing, at turns, nationwide hope and despair.

“I believe Messi is going to continue. I don’t know if he’ll make it to the next World Cup, but this is not the end,” said 32-year-old Adrian Vallejos, watching the final with his wife and son. “I mean, God, I hope so.”

Messi’s persistent leg injuries — including a hurt ankle in the second-half of the final that forced him off the field — have drawn more attention than his performances during this Copa América. But Argentines breathed a sigh of relief when, asked by ESPN this week whether this match would be his last in blue-and-white, Messi refused to rule out playing in the 2026 World Cup.

“We’re at a very poignant transition for this team,” said Alejo Levoratti, a sports sociologist at Argentine research institute CONICET. “It’s only at the point of his retirement that Messi arrived at his best moment and found this connection with his team, this communion with Argentina.”

Another Argentine great of the same age, Ángel Di María, had announced Sunday’s match would be his last, fueling a broader sense of nostalgia about the national squad. He had tears in his eyes as he left the pitch to a standing ovation after Argentina’s breakthrough goal. “I dreamt of retiring like this,” he told reporters afterward.

Successful run

After years of disappointments in international tournaments, the Argentine team has, more recently, clinched triumph after triumph — 2021 Copa América, 2022 inaugural Finalissima match, 2022 World Cup — exhilarating its troubled country again and again.

President Milei, who had a short stint as a goalie for the professional football team Chacarita Juniors, congratulated the national team in an all-caps message on X: “WE ARE CHAMPIONS AGAIN…!!!”

In litter-strewn downtown Buenos Aires, the site of so many protests in recent weeks, national pride appeared, briefly, restored. Friends and strangers draped in Argentinean flags and jerseys hugged and jumped up and down, some singing “Muchachos,” the unofficial anthem of the 2022 World Cup, others chanting Messi’s name.

Colombia’s Jefferson Lerma, left, shoots as Uruguay’s Sebastian Caceres defends during a Copa America semifinal soccer match in Charlotte, N.C., on July 10, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Jefferson Lerma scored in the 39th minute, and Colombia played a man short the entire second half in a 1-0 win over Uruguay on Wednesday night to reach the Copa America final against Lionel Messi and Argentina.

Daniel Muñoz was ejected in first-half stoppage time for his second yellow card, but Colombia held on to reach the championship for the first time since winning its only Copa title as host in 2001. Colombia extended its unbeaten streak to a team record 28 games, one more than from 1992-94 and the longest current streak in men’s football.

In a contentious match that included seven yellow cards and one red, players from both teams pushed and shoved in a scrum on the field at the final whistle and some players went into the stands to scrap with fans.

Defending champion Argentina and Colombia meet Sunday night at Miami Gardens, Florida.

Before an overwhelmingly pro-Colombia crowd at Bank of America Stadium, filled with yellow jerseys and flags, Uruguay fell behind for the first time in the tournament.

James Rodríguez’s corner kick was headed in from short range by Lerma, who outjumped José María Giménez for his third international goal and second of the tournament. Rodríguez has six assists in the tournament — triple the total of any other player.

Muñoz received his first yellow card from Mexican referee César Ramos in the 31st minute for a reckless slide tackle on Maximiliano Araújo and his second for elbowing Manuel Ugarte in the stomach.

Rodríguez was given a yellow card in the 55th minute for arguing with Ramos when the referee failed to stop play when Richard Ríos was kicked on a shin by Darwin Núñez.

Ríos was removed on a stretcher, re-entered the match, then went down in another challenge and was substituted in the 62nd minute. Rodríguez was removed at the same time to keep him eligible for the final.

Colombia goalkeeper Federico Valverde didn’t have to make his first save until he stopped Nicolás de la Cruz in the 68th minute.

Luis Suárez, Uruguay’s career leader with 68 goals, entered in the 66th minute and hit the outside of a post with a shot in the 71st.

Colombia’s Mateus Uribe, another second-half sub, put an open shot wide in the 88th, and Uribe’s open shot in the fourth minute of stoppage time ricocheted off the body of sliding goalkeeper Sergio Rochet and then the crossbar.

The match was played in 90-degree heat on a surface that was converted from artificial turf to grass in the weeks leading up the game.

Argentina is seeking a record 16th Copa America title and is looking to join Spain as the only countries to win three straight major titles.

Argentina’s Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring his side’s second goal against Canada during a Copa America semifinal match in East Rutherford, N.J., on July 9, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Defending champions Argentina booked their place in the Copa America final after goals from Julian Alvarez and Lionel Messi gave them a 2-0 win over Canada in July 9th’s semi-final in New Jersey.

Argentina have won a joint-record 15 Copa titles and reached the final six times in the past eight editions but Canada caused them problems in the opening 20 minutes, with Jacob Shaffelburg twice shooting wide from promising positions.

After soaking up the early pressure Argentina went ahead when Rodrigo De Paul played through Alvarez, who ghosted in between two defenders to score with a tidy finish in the 22nd minute.

2022 World Cup winners Argentina gradually took control of the match and Messi had a chance to double their lead in the 44th minute as he created space in the box with silky footwork before lashing his effort wide.

Canada nearly snatched an equaliser against the run of play in first-half stoppage time as Jonathan David sneaked in ahead of his marker to get on the end of a long throw, but his close-range shot was hit straight at goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.

Messi then scored Argentina’s second in the 51st minute when he stuck out a boot to divert Enzo Fernandez’s shot from the edge of the area past Canada goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau.

The goal moved Messi to joint fifth in the all-time Copa America scoring charts, level with Peru’s Paolo Guerrero and Chile’s Eduardo Vargas on 14.

The 37-year-old’s 109th goal for Argentina also saw him surpass Iran’s Ali Daei on the all-time international scoring charts. Messi is second behind Cristiano Ronaldo, who has scored 130 goals for Portugal.

Despite their two-goal cushion, Argentina had a nervy finish to the match as Canada substitute Tani Oluwaseyi tested Martinez with a crisp shot in the 89th minute before directing a glancing header wide a minute later.

Argentina will take on either Uruguay or Colombia, who meet on July 10, in the final in Florida on July 14.

Lionel Messi is seen during a training session ahead of the Copa America semifinals against Canada.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

Lionel Messi won’t be stopped by a leg injury and will play in Argentina’s Copa America semifinal against Canada on July 9 night.

Messi has been dealing with a right leg problem since the group stage win over Chile on June 25. He missed the first-round finale four days later but played the entire match in the quarterfinal victory over Ecuador last Thursday.

“Leo is good. He will be playing tomorrow,” Albiceleste coach Lionel Scaloni said Monday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

At 37, Messi has 13 Copa America goals and is four behind the record shared by Argentina’s Norberto Méndez and Brazil’s Zizinho but hasn’t scored in this year’s tournament.

“It’s an easy decision for me,” Scaloni said. “It’s a fairly honest decision: I ask him how he feels. If he says I’m not good,’ then he will play the last 30 minutes. When he’s available, he will play.” Seeking a record 16th Copa America title, Argentina beat Canada 2-0 in the June 20 tournament opener when Messi set up second-half goals by Julián Álvarez and Lautaro Martínez.

“We didn’t do well enough with Messi last match. He was able to run free at our goalkeeper too much,” said Jesse Marsch, the American hired as Canada’s coach in May. “We all know he’s the greatest player to ever play the game.” Argentina outshot Canada 19-10, including 9-2 on target, and had 64% possession.

“It’s more of (an) advantage that we were able to play against them than it was for them to play against us,” Marsch said.

Both teams are coming off quarterfinal wins on penalty kicks. Canada, an invited guest from North America, defeated Venezuela.

In the other semifinal, Uruguay plays Colombia on Wednesday night in Charlotte, North Carolina. The championship is Sunday at Miami Gardens, Florida.

Argentina will have four days’ rest, one more than Canada, but both teams are coming off 90-minute matches. Tournament regulations call for extra time to be used only if needed in the final.

Argentina is seeking to win its third major title after the 2021 Copa America and the 2022 World Cup and to equal the feat of Spain, which won the European Championship in 2008 and ’12 along with the 2010 World Cup. The Albiceleste are tied with Uruguay for most Copa America titles with 15.

Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez has won four straight shootouts, against Colombia in the 2021 Copa semifinals, vs. the Netherlands in the 2022 World Cup quarterfinals and against France in the final, then vs. Ecuador last week.

Martinez, 6-foot-5, constantly shuffling his feet and a chatterbox trying to distract opponents, saved eight of 18 shots, stopping Colombia’s Davinson Sánchez, Yerry Mina and Edwin Cardona; the Netherlands’ Virgil van Dijk and Steven Berghuis; France’s Kingsley Coman; and Ecuador’s Ángel Mena and Alan Minda.

Canada was eliminated in the group stage of its only World Cup appearances in 1986 and 2022. It won the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup after gaining the title of a predecessor tournament, the 1985 CONCACAF Championship.

“We’re playing against the best team in the world,” said Cyle Larin, Canada’s career leader with 29 goals. “We have a lot of speed and power, but I think over those days we’ve been together we’ve been growing.”

Argentina’s goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez celebrates after saving a penalty kick in a penalty shoot out during the Conmebol 2024 Copa America tournament quarterfinal football match against Ecuador in Texas, on July 4, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was the hero, saving two penalties and Lionel Messi’s blushes as holders Argentina defeated Ecuador in a penalty shoot-out to book their place in the Copa America semifinals on July 4.

A Lisandro Martinez header had put world champions Argentina 1-0 up ten minutes before half-time but Kevin Rodriguez headed in a stoppage-time leveller for Ecuador, who had risen to the occasion in front of 69,456 fans at Houston’s NRG Stadium.

Messi missed the opening penalty, chipping against the bar, but thanks to heroics from Martinez, Argentina recovered to win the shoot-out 4-2 and progress into the semifinals where they will face the winner of Friday’s match between Venezuela and Canada.

Messi’s ‘panenka’ miss brought back memories of his miss in the shoot-out loss to Chile in the 2016 Copa final but luckily for him goalkeeper Martinez was in the mood to repeat his own past.

He pulled off superb diving saves to deny Angel Mena and Alan Minda and get his team in front before Nicolas Otamendi slotted home the decisive fourth kick.

Martinez had saved three spot-kicks in a 3–2 penalty shootout victory for Argentina over Colombia in the semi-final of the 2021 Copa America and famously saved two in the World Cup final win against France in Qatar.

Ecuador were left crestfallen after a match in which they had created enough opportunities to have won the game.

Felix Sanchez’s team made a bright start, dominating the ball in midfield and stretching the Argentine defence at times.

Moises Caicedo had an early opportunity, latching on to a header from Enner Valencia, but his shot was tame and easily dealt with by Argentine keeper Martinez.

Then Moises Caicedo threaded a clever pass through to the impressive Jeremy Sarmiento but Martinez was out quick to save with an outstretched foot and Kendry Paez blasted the loose ball over the bar.

Argentina gradually got a foothold in the game but it was not until the 28th minute that they had their first opening when Enzo Fernandez headed wide a Nahuel Molina cross from the right.

Seven minutes later, they had the lead however, Messi driving in a corner which Alexis Mac Allister met at the near post with a flick-on and Lisandro Martinez arrived with a powerful header that Ecuador keeper Alexander Dominguez was unable to keep out.

Fernandez soon had a chance to double the lead but fired a left-foot shot wide at the back post and Argentina went in at the break with a single goal lead.

Ecuador were given a lifeline in the 62nd minute when Rodrigo De Paul was ruled to have handled inside the box but Valencia’s penalty struck the outside of the post.

But in stoppage time, Ecuador stunned the 15-times Copa champions when Kevin Rodriguez glanced in a header from a John Yeboah cross.

There was a VAR review, looking at whether Jordy Caicedo had interfered in an offside position at the back post but the goal stood.

Moments later Jordy Caicedo had a great chance to win the game but he glanced a left-wing cross wide from a great, central position.

That meant the drama of a penalty shoot-out and the chance to upset the defending champions slipt away.

Argentina’s Lionel Messi. File.
| Photo Credit: AP

Lionel Messi won’t be in Argentina’s squad at the Olympics starting later this month in Paris.

Coach Javier Mascherano included four World Cup winners in the squad he announced Tuesday, including striker Julián Álvarez and defender Nicolás Otamendi.

The 37-year-old Messi, who has struggled with injuries this year, is now playing at the Copa America, aiming to defend the continental title he won in 2021. That victory served as a springboard for Argentina to lift the World Cup in 2022.

Messi won the gold medal at Beijing in 2008 in his only Olympic campaign.

The Olympic men’s soccer tournament is for under-23 teams, but three older players are allowed on each squad.

Mascherano, who won the Olympic gold medal as a player in 2004 and ’08, will add goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli, Otamendi and Álvarez to his squad after Copa America is finished.

Midfielder Claudio Echeverri, a recent signing for Manchester City from River Plate, will also join.

Argentina will play two friendlies in France before its Olympic soccer tournament opener against Morocco on July 24. Argentina and Morocco are in Group B along with Iraq and Ukraine.

Lionel Messi gestures during the Copa America 2024 match against Chile on June 25, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images via AFP

Lionel Messi hopes a leg injury sustained during Argentina’s 1-0 Copa America win over Chile is “nothing serious”.

Playing a day after his 37th birthday, the Argentina superstar received treatment on the thigh area of his right leg for nearly two minutes after getting kicked by Gabriel Suazo in the 24th minute on Tuesday night.

Messi, however, stayed on the field as the defending champion clinched a quarterfinal berth.

He told reporters after the match that it was “nothing serious”. Messi added: “It’s bothering me a little bit but I was able to finish the match. It was hard for me to move freely, particularly side to side. We’ll see tomorrow how it feels.” Messi said he’s also been dealing with a sore throat and fever in recent days.

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said during his post-game news conference that he had not spoken with Messi but wasn’t concerned about the injury.

Scaloni cited Messi sprinting half the length of the field along with Ángel Di María and Lautaro Martínez late in the game.

“That’s my last image,” Scaloni said.

Martínez scored the only goal following a scramble in the 88th minute after a corner by Messi.

Scaloni said he’s planning to rest several starters in Argentina’s last Group A match, against Peru on Saturday in Florida.

Argentina will win the group unless it loses to Peru in Miami Gardens and Canada beats Chile in a game played simultaneously in Orlando.

The Canadians can overtake Argentina on goal difference. Argentina is on plus-three and Canada minus-one.

Argentina’s Lautaro Martinez, second from right, celebrates scoring his side’s opening goal against Chile during a Copa America Group A match on June 25, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

After nearly 90 minutes of total domination, Lionel Messi and defending champion Argentina advanced to the Copa America quarterfinals after the ball ricocheted in front of the net during a frantic scramble that led to the breakthrough.

Lautaro Martínez scored off the last in a series of rebounds in the 88th minute, lifting the Albiceleste over Chile 1-0 on Tuesday night and into the quarterfinals with a game to spare.

“The ball ended up right at me and I was able to convert it,” said Martínez, who scored the second goal in last week’s opening 2-0 win over Canada.

Messi started the leadup to the goal with a corner kick that was sent sent toward goal with a glancing header by defender Lisandro Martínez. The ball landed in front of goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, where Argentina’s Giovani Lo Celso and Chile’s Nicolás Fernández were wrestling. Lo Celso kicked the ball off Bravo and it rebounded to Chile’s Igor Lichnovsky, who tried to poke it wide.

Lautaro Martínez, who entered in the 73rd, calmly one-timed that rebound into the roof of the net on Argentina’s 21st shot. Players stood and waited for three minutes while the goal, Martínez’s 26th for the national team, was confirmed in a video review.

“We deserved the win. It was not an easy match,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. “We managed to win at the moment least expected.”

Argentina leads Group A with six points, followed by Canada with three, and Chile and Peru with one each. The Albiceleste finish the first round against Peru at Miami Gardens, Florida, on Saturday, when Canada meets Chile in Orlando, Florida.

Playing a day after his 37th birthday, Messi frequently flaunted his talent to spin around and slalom through defenders before an adoring sellout crowd of 81,106 at MetLife Stadium, site of the 2026 World Cup final. Argentina dominated 22-3 in shots and 11-0 in corner kicks. Chile didn’t take its first attempt until the 72nd minute.

Messi came the closest to scoring before Martínez with a 30-yard shot that glanced off the post to Bravo’s left in the 36th minute. Messi had received treatment on the thigh area of his right leg for nearly two minutes after getting kicked by Gabriel Suazo in the 24th.

Nicolás González’s shot from another Messi pass in the 62nd was parried off the crossbar by Bravo.

“I always have to save one or two every match. And I’m lucky to keep doing it,” Martínez said.

On the 46th anniversary of Argentina’s first World Cup title, the teams returned to the stadium where Chile beat Argentina on penalty kicks in the 2016 Copa America final. That defeat prompted Messi to announce his international retirement only to reverse his decision seven weeks later.

At least 90% of the fans wore Argentina jerseys, most with Messi’s name and No. 10.

There were some small brown patches behind one goal on a grass field installed at a stadium where the usual surface is artificial turf. The surface was narrow, with construction scheduled to allow a wider field for the World Cup.

Bravo, at 41 the oldest player in Copa America history, had eight saves in his 150th international appearance. He and Messi, former Barcelona teammates, spoke with each other while leading their teams onto the field for the national anthems.

“Losing this way leaves a bitter taste,” Bravo said. “We played against a tremendous opponent.”