Kathmandu: Brazil and Argentina, two Latin American powerhouses, are vying for the title of the 47th edition of the Copa America, the world’s oldest football competition.
Argentina captain Lionel Messi will have the opportunity to win his first major title in the final of the tournament in Brazil.
The final game is being played on Saturday (Sunday morning according to Nepali time) at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
Messi, 34, has won 10 La Liga titles and four Champions League titles with Barcelona. Messi, a six-time Ballon d’Or winner, won the only gold medal for Argentina at the 2008 Olympics in China.
Meanwhile, Brazilian defender Marquanhos has said that he will try to stop Messi from reaching his goal.
The 2021 Copa Amrica is Messi’s 10th major competition for Argentina. He is playing in the Copa America for the sixth time and has played in the World Cup four times.
In the World Cup, Messi has won 12 out of 19 games and lost 4. He has scored 6 goals in 4 World Cups. In the same cup, he has won 20 out of 33 games and lost only 3 games. In which he has scored 13 goals.
Argentina have not won a major title since winning the Copa Am ९९rica in 1993. This time in front of him is the previous winner Brazil.
Messi, who has signed a contract with Spanish club Barcelona, ​​has already scored four goals in the ongoing Copa in Brazil.
Brazil’s Neymar, who was once a teammate in Barcelona, ​​is also looking for his first major title from his country.
For the first time since 2007, Brazil and Argentina will meet in the Copa final.
Argentina coach Lionel Scolani said the final was against a well-known opponent and that the two teams were the two strongest in South America. He hopes the game will be excellent.
This edition of the 10-nation South American Copa was initially scheduled to take place in Colombia and Argentina. But the competition, which was delayed by a year due to the Corona epidemic, was last held in Brazil.
The 10 teams were divided into two groups. The top four teams from both groups reached the quarterfinals.
Brazil beat Chile 1-0 in the quarterfinals and Peru 1-0 in the semifinals. Argentina easily beat Ecuador 3-0 in the quarterfinals and Colombia 3-2 in a penalty shootout in the semifinals.
Will Argentina break the 28-year title drought?
Argentina, ranked eighth in the FIFA rankings, have lost the Copa final four times since they last won the Copa in 1993. This time, Argentina has a chance to equal Uruguay’s record of winning the title a maximum of 15 times.
Will Argentina succeed in that? Brazil, which won the title at home two years ago, has won the Copa nine times so far and is the third highest winner. Brazil is aiming to win the title for the second time in a row.
Brazilian defender Marquinhos considers the game to be more than just normal football. He said that this jersey will attract the whole world to watch the game.
