Argentina entered rarefied air Sunday with a thrilling 1-0 victory over Colombia in the Copa América final Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
Lionel Messi's teammates stepped up when the 37-year-old superstar captain was tearfully subbed off in the second half with an injury, and Argentina finally broke through in the 112th minute on a goal from Copa América top scorer Lautaro Martinez, his fifth of the tournament.
The win makes Argentina the first-ever nation to win two consecutive Copa Américas and the World Cup in between them. Messi's squad matches 2008-2012 Spain as the only country to make an equally dominant run. It also snaps a 28-game unbeaten streak for a very impressive Colombia squad.
Here are the highlights!
Lionel Messi's earlier tears turned to joy as he and his teammates celebrated an incredibe third straight major tournament victory and the 37-year-old captain returned to his teammates.
117': Argentina 1, Colombia 0
Ángel Di María got a hero's tribute as he exited the pitch in his final Argentina match with his side minutes from a second straight Copa América final.
Things got chippy on the pitch late as Colombia sought to equalize against Argentina.
Lautaro Martinez did what Argentina fans hoped he would after his extra-time entry to the pitch, finally finding the back of the net to put Argentina up 1-0 with eight minutes left. He then made sure to embrace Lionel Messi amid the celebration.
Ángel Di María was nearly the hero alongside Lautaro Martinez in extra time, but the Argentina legend put his ball just too far in front of the Inter Milan striker.
As both sides push for a goal in extra time to avoid a penalty shootout, Lautaro Martinez has come on for Julián Álvarez while Luis Díaz is off for Colombia.
Lionel Messi's ankle appears very swollen as he has to watch the rest of this final from the bench.
If Colombia wins this final, this incredible save from Camilo Vargas on a shot from Nicolas Gonzalez to keep the game scoreless will be a pivotal moment.
James Rodríguez's resurgent 2024 Copa América is over, as the midfielder was subbed off at the beginning of extra time. He finishes with a tournament-high six assists.
Even without Lionel Messi, Argentina has been creating the lion's share of quality chances in the second half as the this Copa América final remains scoreless late.
An emotional Lionel Messi exited the pitch in tears after appearing to reeagravate the ankle injury he suffered in the first half. Messi went down without contact on the pitch and laid there before gingerly exiting the pitch. Cameras then caught the 37-year-old Argentina superstar in tears on his team's bench.
The match is still scoreless despite more good chances for both sides, including a header off a Colombia corner kick and a shot from Ángel Di María that glanced off the goalpost.
Camilo Vargas had to come way outside of goal to save successive shots from Alexis Mac Allister and Angel Di Maria, but got the job done to keep the World Cup winners off the scoresheet.
Jhon Arias nearly had the opening goal for Colombia, but his shot went wide across the face of goal and safely out of danger for Emi Martinez.
Lionel Messi stayed down on the pitch and briefly exited the game before reentering after suffering an apparent ankle injury via contact with a Colombia defender.
