Latauro Martinez scored a go-ahead goal in the 113th minute to help Argentina to victory. However, Messi’s injury underscored Sunday’s final, which was delayed by more than an hour because of unticketed fans attempting to breach the stadium by overwhelming security.
In the first half, Messi, 37, appeared to be injured after dancing through the Colombian defense, but mistiming a cross before reaching the byline. Yet Messi continued into the second half. He was pursuing Colombian winger Luis Diaz when he awkwardly stumbled over himself and fell onto the Hard Rock Stadium field. He burst into tears as he took a seat on the bench. Late into the match, Fox’s broadcast showed significant swelling on Messi’s right ankle.
Another look at that non-contact play that led to Messi being subbed off pic.twitter.com/07OzBJjDb8
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 15, 2024
Messi is in tears as he is subbed off due to injury 💔 pic.twitter.com/t0l3OLLuWf
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 15, 2024
Messi is full of emotion as he comes off early in the Copa América
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 15, 2024
2024 Final 🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/DUkls7YCsa
But Argentina managed to find a way to win without its captain, extending what’s currently soccer’s longest international unbeaten streak. Argentina became the first nation to repeat as tournament champions since Chile (2015-16), and the first to repeat in the competition while holding the FIFA World Cup crown. According to DraftKings, Argentina entered the match as the odds-on favorite to win +115. However, Argentina currently isn’t among the top favorites to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup. _InlineAdBlockThe swelling of Messi’s ankle 😮 pic.twitter.com/M3cgzIpyf6
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) July 15, 2024