Page 92 - Soccer360 Issue 107

COPA AMERICA 2024 REVIEW
ARGENTINA DELIGHT
It is often said that the pathway to repeating a championship is perilous. With the eyes of the world watching and every team gunning for them, winning multiple championships in a row is a daunting task. For Argentina, their road to a second consecutive Copa America title featured multiple tough matches, a battle with an old foe in the form of Colombia, and multiple stadium problems. But as they have shown throughout this recent run they were up for the task knocking
off Colombia 1-0 in front of a mostly paid crowd at Hard Rock Stadium. As was the case in the 2022 edition of the tournament, Argentina’s rise to the top wasn’t all smooth
ABOVE:
Argentina celebrate with their Copa America Trophy
LEFT:
Alvarez of Argentina celebrates with the trophy
sailing. Although they did finish atop Group A having not allowed a single goal (3-0-0, 9 points) they did run into some speed bumps in the knockout rounds. As is usually the case Ecuador proved to be a tough out in the Quarterfinals working La Albiceleste
all the way to penalties before losing
4-2. Canada also made life miserable for Argentina in the semifinals, matching them stride-for-stride before bowing out 2-0. Against Colombia, an opponent who also had to grind out a 1-0 victory over Uruguay in the semifinals, Argentina faced another side that could hold their own defensively against Lionel Messi and Lautaro Martinez, who had scored four of their goals prior
to the finals. Through 112 minutes they
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