Argentina and Chile faced off in the finals of the special edition Copa America Centenario, in a repeat of last year’s final. Both the teams played more than half of the game with 10 men after Marcos Rojo and Marcelo Diaz were sent off in the first half and neither of them managed to break the deadlock in 90 minutes. The extra time was far more entertaining than regulation time with both sides creating several chances . However , there were no goals and just like last year the game went to penalties with Chile winning 4-2 , breaking Argentinian hearts for a second consecutive summer. Here are : 5 things we learnt from the Argentina vs Chile Final.
1) Remarkable achievement from Chile
Chile were ranked outside of the top 80 in FIFA world rankings less than 10 years ago and had failed to qualify for the 2002 and 2006 world cups. There has been a remarkable turnaround by Chile in on and off the pitch in terms of football , now they have two of the Biggest names in World Football in their strides in Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal. They are now ranked 5th in the world and have won two consecutive major tournaments.
2) Heartbreak for Argentina yet again
It was the same sorrow story for Argentina. They lost in extra time to Germany 2 years ago in Rio de Janeiro , last year they lost to Chile on Penalties and this year when they looked really dangerous in the run in to the finals ,they succumbed to the pressure yet again and failed to lift the trophy. This defeat will be hard to digest for the players and fans.
3) Messi is human after all
Lionel Messi has been carrying the weight of expectations of every single Argentine on his shoulders for the last 3 tournaments and personally he has delivered,producing some magical moments. When he missed Argentina’s first penalty , the entire nation must have skipped a beat. The pressure got into Messi’s head and he blasted his penalty over. Probably he is human after all and not from another planet.
4) Argentina probably have a curse on them
This was Argentina’s 5th major finals defeat in a row, a run going back to Copa America 2004. There is surely some kind of curse on Argentina , just like the one on Benfica. People say that Brazil’s 1982 team featuring Zico , Eder and Socrates was the best team ever to have now won a world cup. The current Argentine squad is the best there exists in the world which has not won a major tournament. The core of the squad which includes Sergio Romero , Mascherano , Di Maria , Messi , Higuain and Aguero , all these deserve a winners medal with their country and they need to start all over again in 2 years time in Russia.
5) Over to Russia next summer for Chile
Looks like there will be no rest at all for Chilean players , they will play for a fourth consecutive summer next year when they take part in the Confederations cup alongside other continental champions, Germany and Russian.
Also Read : Euro 2016 : 5 things we learnt from Hungary vs Belgium
