Argentina beat Brazil 1-0 to win first title since 1993
Messi ended his major international title drought with the victory
Argentina claim the Copa America crown for the first time since 1993, defeating Brazil 1-0 in the final at the Maracana.
Angel Di Maria's strike in the 22nd minute was enough for the Albiceleste to overcome Tite's men and end their run of failures in in major finals.
Although Lionel Messi was not at his best tonight, he ends his international title drought. It was far from a classic, but Lionel Scaloni and his men will be elated to end Argentina's 28-year wait for the Copa America trophy.
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89' | MESSI MISSES A SITTER! The forward has the chance to surely wrap up the Copa America crown for the Albiceleste as he latches on to a precise offload from De Paul. He only needs to beat Ederson from six yards, but he takes a poor first touch and the Brazil keeper smothers the ball at his feet.
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52' | DISALLOWED GOAL! Richarlison fires the ball into the net from close range, but the flag goes up for offside. Paqueta releases the forward in the right-inside channel and he attempts an offload towards Firmino. Otamendi blocks the cross, but Richarlison turns home the rebound. The celebrations of the Selecao are cut short though by a late offside flag against the Everton man.
Half-time | A good half for Argentina. They have controlled the attacks of Brazil and broken up play. But most importantly, they have the goal that puts them ahead against Brazil. A big second half awaits.
44' | Richarlison has a great chance to equalise for Brazil from a corner. Neymar's delivery is good enough but the effort goes wide of the mark.
22' | Angel di Maria's goal has put Argentina ahead in the Copa America final. It was a wonderful delivery from midfielder Rodrigo de Paul in the 22nd minute that the PSG winger chested, controlled and chipped over Ederson who was off his line.
In the 111 matches between the two sides, Brazil are edging the head-to-head duel winning 46 of the contests compared to Argentina's 40.
Brazil are unchanged from their win over Peru in their semi-final clash. Neymar leads the line for the Selecao supported by Everton, Richarlison and Paqueta. Marquinhos and Thiago Silva will draw on their experience to attempt to thwart Messi at the back.
Scaloni has made five changes to his side that advanced to the final in their shootout win over Colombia. Montiel, Romero and Acuna slot into the backline to replace Pezzella, Molina and Tagliafico. Paredes comes into the side in the middle of the park, while Di Maria replaces Gonzalez in the final third.
BRAZIL SUBS: Alisson, Alex Sandro, Everton Ribeiro, Weverton, Emerson, Eder Militao, Fabinho, Vinicius Junior, Roberto Firmino, Gabriel Barbosa, Leo Ortiz, Douglas Luiz.
BRAZIL (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Danilo, Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, Renan Lodi; Casemiro, Fred; Richarlison, Lucas Paqueta, Everton; Neymar.
ARGENTINA SUBS: Franco Armani, Nicolas Tagliafico, German Pezzella, Sergio Aguero, Agustin Marchesin, Exequiel Palacios, Nicolas Gonzalez, Guido Rodriguez, Angel Correa, Alejandro Gomez, Lisandro Martinez, Nahuel Molina.
ARGENTINA (4-3-3): Emiliano Martinez; Gonzalo Montiel, Cristian Romero, Nicolas Otamendi, Marcos Acuna; Rodrigo de Paul, Leandro Paredes, Giovani Lo Celso; Lionel Messi, Lautaro Martinez, Angel Di Maria.
Brazil are chasing their eighth Copa America crown and to successfully defend their title won in the 2019 competition. The Selecao defeated Peru 3-1 in a routine victory in 2019, but know the Albicelete will provide a tough test of their mettle. Tite's side overcame Peru in th semi-finals courtesy of a strike from Lucas Paqueta. They have been solid in the knockout stages and will be determined to see off Messi and company tonight.
Argentina are aiming to win the Copa America for the first time since 1993 and to end a dismal run of failures in the final. The Albiceleste have qualified for the final four times since their last triumph, but have ultimately failed on the grand stage. Lionel Messi has the chance to win a first major crown at international level after playing a starring role in the tournament to date. It will not be easy as Lionel Scaloni's men had to go through the drama of a penalty shootout to reach the final, narrowly seeing off Colombia in a shootout. They need a flawless performance tonight to overcome Brazil.
