COPA AMERICA
Messi heaps praise on Colombia ahead of Copa América final
The Albiceleste captain spoke to Fox Sports ahead of Sunday’s final as the reigning champions Argentina face Colombia with La Tri undefeated in 28 games.
This Sunday, Colombia and Argentina will play in the showpiece final at the 2024 Copa América at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. On one side, there will be the best team in the competition (according to performances and results) as Colombia look to claim what would be only their second Copa triumph. Their rivals on the other hand, are reigning champions and World Cup holders Argentina who will be eyeing a record 16th continental triumph.
Ahead of the game in Florida on Sunday, Albiceleste captain and talisman Lionel Messi gave an interview to Fox Sports in which he praised Colombia and highlighted the virtues of Sunday’s opponents who have been very much the surprise package of the tournament. The Inter Miami player confirmed he watched the semi-final against Uruguay and recognised the exemplary work being carried out by La Tri head coach Néstor Lorenzo which sees Colombia secure a 28 game unbeaten run.
“We were able to watch the Uruguay-Colombia match. We knew that either one of these teams would provide a difficult opponent and the reason why Colombia hasn’t lost for so long, is because they are a team that have very good players in every department and they play fast and intense football with top class strikers” Messi noted.
Messi did state that “finals are always one-off occasions” and added that he is really enjoying his time with the Argentina side and is confident that his team ability to prevail on Sunday.
“We are fine, calm, as we have been throughout this tournament, enjoying everything that is going on and looking forward to the final,” Messi concluded in the preview.
The current Colombian team’s 28 game unbeaten record is a national record with the last defeat coming in February 2022, ironically against Argentina in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers (Messi did not feature in the match that ended 1-0 in Córdoba).
The final of the Copa América 2024 between Colombia and Argentina will be played this Sunday, 14 July 14, starting at 8:00 p.m. (ET), at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. In the event of a tie in the 90 minutes of regulation time, there will be extra time and, should there be no breakthrough in the deadlock, a penalty shoot-out would be employed to determine the winner.