James Rodríguez breaks Lionel Messi’s record at the Copa América

After a 23-year wait, Colombia is back in the Copa America final, and excitement is building up as they prepare to face Argentina in what promises to be a thrilling match between the best two teams in the tournament. Néstor Lorenzo’s side earned their spot after a tough 1-0 victory over Uruguay in the semifinals, in which James Rodríguez, once again, was the standout player.

Despite only playing for 62 minutes, Colombia’s captain crucially contributed to his team’s victory by taking the corner before Jefferson Lerma’s header gave the advantage to the cafeteros. What’s more, he was named MVP of the game and broke Lionel Messi’s record for most assists during a single Copa America.

Indeed, this has been a story of redemption for the Colombian player, who seemed far away from reaching this level two years ago when former Colombia’s coach, Reinaldo Rueda, decided not to call him for Brazil’s 2021 Copa America. James Rodriguez’s tears during the post-game interview, while saying, “I’ve been here for almost 13 years, waiting for this (moment), we’re happy,” reflected the emotion of someone who, despite having challenging moments, is one step closer to reaching a dream that has eluded him for years: winning a trophy with Colombia.

How many assists does James Rodríguez have at the Copa América?

Messi established the record for most assists during a single tournament at 2021′s Copa America, the same competition James was absent from. Argentina’s number 10 gave five assists during that competition: Against Uruguay (one) and Bolivia (one) during the group stage, in the quarterfinals against Ecuador (two), and in the semifinals against Colombia (one).

However, records are meant to be broken, and only one edition after Messi’s record, James surpassed the Argentinian by giving six assists in five matches! Colombia’s number 10 assisted against Paraguay (two) and Costa Rica (one) during the group stage, Panama in the quarterfinals (two), and Uruguay in the semifinals (one).

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Colombia’s unbeaten streak continues

However, this was not the only record broken; Colombia’s victory over Uruguay made their 28-game unbeaten streak the longest since Francisco’s Maturana’s historic 27-game streak with Colombia between 1992 and 1994.

The cafetero’s incredible’ feat began during the 2022 World Cup qualifiers against Bolivia. With Reinaldo Rueda as the head coach, Colombia trashed Bolivia 3-0 but failed to qualify for the finals, leading to Rueda’ dismissal and Néstor Lorenzo’s appointment as the new trainer. Besides this 1-0 victory over Uruguay, Colombia’s unbeaten streak has other memorable victories against Germany (2-0), Spain (1-0), and Brazil (2-1).

When is the Copa América final?

Argentina and Colombia will play the Copa América final in Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday, July 14, with the kickoff scheduled for 8 pm ET.