Day two of the 2019 Copa America has come to a close, and the final game of the day saw Colombia defeat Argentina 2-0 to put themselves in pole position to finish first place in Group B.
After a dreadful first half, both teams began to create much more in the second. Just as Argentina was starting to build momentum, Colombia took advantage on the break, grabbing goals from Roger Martinez and Duvan Zapata to pick up the vital three points.
It may have been their opening game of the tournament, but La Albiceleste will certainly be worried about what fortunes lie ahead for them in this summers tournament after a disappointing performance.
Story of the match
There were no big surprises for either team in terms of their starting lineups. Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria flanked Sergio Aguero up top for Argentina, while Colombia had James Rodriguez in the number 10 role sitting behind Radamel Falcao. Both nations came into the contest of plenty of attacking talents, but with questionable backlines as well.
The opening chance of the contest fell to La Albiceleste, as Messi dropped into the midfield to pick up the ball. He looked up, and dunked a ball into the path of Aguero, but an onrushing David Ospina managed to come out and just about clear the danger away.
There was an early injury, unfortunately, as Luis Muriel had to come off after picking up a knock in the opening minutes. The Colombians had to burn an early substitution as well, as Roger Martinez came on in his place.
Colombia had a great chance to open the scoring at the half-hour mark due to Argentina shooting themselves in the foot. A backpass was fired at Nicolas Otamendi, and his poor first touch allowed Falcao to take the ball. However, his shot was blocked at the last moment, keeping the score at 0-0.
Overall, it was a very tame opening 45 minutes. Colombia had most of the possession but weren’t able to do much with it. They were still better than Argentina, however, as they couldn’t even put together a few passes in the midfield. Messi was left isolated, and the FC Barcelona man barely ever got the ball.
Argentina bounced back, and almost had a dream start to the second half. Leonardo Paredes picked up the ball from about 25 yards out, and unleashed a shot towards goal. He hit it well, but the ball flew just wide of the target.
The first controversial moment of the contest came ten minutes later, as Colombia got away with a back pass to their goalkeeper. Wilmar Barrios tracked back to tackle the ball from Messi but dribbled it right back to Ospina, who quickly picked the ball up. Argentina were left furious with the decision, and Paredes went on to pick up a yellow for dissent after yelling at the official.
Colombia would take the lead in the 70th minute through Martinez, the substitute who came on earlier in the contest. He was picked out wide by Rodriguez, and the winger cut back inside before dancing past an Argentine defender and unleashing a rocket into the far corner. They were poor to start the half, but it was just another example of Colombia making the most of their chances.
Argentina controlled the game following the goal as they pushed towards an equalizer, but it would be Colombia who scored next. It would be all three of the substitutes combining to create the goal, as Martinez played Jefferson Lerma down the wing. He picked his head up and drilled a low cross towards Duvan Zapata, who stretched out and smashed the chance home from close range. It was an extremely well-worked counter and would put the game to bed.
International frustration for Messi once again
After coming off another stellar season for FC Barcelona, the attention was on Lionel Messi to see if he could finally lead Argentina to glory on the international stage. However, once again, he was let down by those around him.
Messi was almost nonexistent in the opening half, as the Argentina midfield could not string enough passes together to even get him the ball. Colombia made sure to cover him at all times, and simply dared the rest of his teammates to do something on his own.
He was much more involved to start the second half, as Messi was finally able to pick up the ball and get his teammates involved. However, just as it seemed like something was starting to happen, the Argentina backline fell asleep and gave a goal away. The team lost confidence almost immediately, and ended up conceding another soon after. Messi tried to force one back, but his efforts were ultimately futile.
Argentina are still likely to get out of the group, but that will now be as the 2nd place team instead of the 1st. It will also deal a big blow to their confidence, and they’ve proven to be mentally weak in the past. The time is starting to run out for Messi, who will be 32 years old at the end of the month, and it seems this year’s tournament will just be as frustrating as the ones before.
Man of the match: Roger Martinez
Many Colombians would’ve been worried when Luis Muriel came off with an injury early on, but it ended up being a blessing in disguise for the team as Roger Martinez was able to come on and eventually win Colombia the game. The Club America man played a part in both goals, scoring the first with a screamer from the edge of the area before starting the move that eventually lead to the second goal. He was active and dangerous throughout and should be the first name on the teamsheet when Colombia take on Qatar on Wednesday.