Argentina has been not been satisfying but they have managed to reach the final of the Copa America.
There has been no other man that has done more than Messi is getting the ball past defenders to create chances for his teammates. This is not to put down the work of the rest of the team, as they have put in the work needed to get to this point so far. The Argentines have been through some scary situations in their road to the coveted trophy but here they are.
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Argentina have made it through the group with only one tie and two wins, making them the first place holders. The anticipation grew as the knockout stages came drew closer. People everywhere were awaiting the great clash with Colombia, something that would reveal the readiness of both teams. It was a dirty game played by Colombia as they fouled the Argentines on many occasions and ruined their chances of scoring goals in regulation time. Even the referee proved to be out of his mind during the match as he allowed Colombia to continue playing an overly aggressive game.
It was time for the penalty shots and the audience grew anxious; nobody likes the chaos that is the penalty shoot-out. I could not describe to you how this panned out, just know that Argentina won it, rightfully so:
With that out of the way, it was now time to face the team that had stolen 2 points from Argentina in their first game of the competition: Paraguay. It was up to Argentina to make the right choices with the defense and not allow the Paraguayans to tie and take them to yet another nail-biting shoot-out.
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Argentina made 2 goals in the first half and close to the end Paraguay made one of their own. It was 2-1 with memories of their first game going through their heads as they walked into the locker room. Paraguay proved to be a team that comes alive after taking getting scored on but this time it would not fare too well for them. Albiceleste came out in the second half with determination and grit; scoring 4 more times for a finish of 6-1. Paraguay did not deserve such a result after having an impressive run but that is how the ball rolls:
The Final
Argentina are set to take on Chile, who have also been stellar, in a match that will provide the fireworks that you need for the Fourth of July weekend. It’s going to be the best of Chile taking on the best of Argentina, it will be a delight to see all that football prowess in one field on one night for one trophy. Argentina will come away with the win tonight because they bleed football and Messi will finally want to bring a trophy home. Who can stop a determined Messi? Do not say Germany. I am still trying to get over the World Cup Final…