Tag: Argentina

Chaos and confusion reigned on Wednesday as Morocco beat Argentina 2-1 in their opening game of the men’s Olympic football tournament.

Argentina were disallowed a late equaliser, while the final minutes were played out in an empty stadium following crowd trouble.

The South American side thought they had escaped from the Group B match in Saint-Etienne with a 2-2 draw when Cristian Medina scored in the 16th minute of added time.

But as their players celebrated, projectiles including bottles and plastic cups rained down from the stands and several spectators entered the pitch, with the referee promptly blowing the whistle.

The teams left the playing area, but the referee had not blown for full-time and the outcome of the match was completely unclear until the sides finally reappeared two hours later to play out three more minutes in a stadium by now emptied of spectators.

Medina’s goal was eventually disallowed for offside following a VAR review, and Morocco held on for all three points.

It was an undignified start to the sporting action at the Paris Games, and a bad day all around for Argentina, whose players were booed as they emerged onto the pitch and during the national anthem by the crowd, most of whom were supporting Morocco.

That welcome came after Argentina players were filmed singing racist chants following their victory in the recent Copa America.

“It is a circus,” complained Argentina coach Javier Mascherano. “At no point did they tell us our goal was not valid… this would not even happen in a neighbourhood tournament. It’s pathetic.”

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“Beyond the Olympic spirit, the organisation needs to be up to standard. At the moment it is not, unfortunately.”

Argentina are looking to win men’s football gold for the third time after success in 2004 and 2008, but Mascherano’s side trailed 2-0 following a brace by Soufiane Rahimi.

Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi, the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) full-back, set up Rahimi for the opener in first-half stoppage time.

The reigning African Under-23 champions doubled their lead six minutes into the second half from the penalty spot, Rahimi converting after Ilias Akhomach was brought down.

Mascherano, who starred in the teams that won gold in Athens and Beijing, had at one point hoped to persuade Lionel Messi to feature among the three permitted overage players in his squad otherwise limited to those under 23.

Messi turned him down, and the biggest names in their side here were Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez and captain Nicolas Otamendi, the Benfica defender.

Giuliano Simeone, son of former Argentina star Diego, came off the bench to pull one back midway through the second half.

Medina then thought he had saved a point in the 106th minute as he nodded in after Otamendi and Bruno Amione both hit the woodwork in a frantic few seconds of action, only for Argentina to be denied.

Argentina’s next game will be in Lyon on Saturday against Iraq, who came from behind to beat Ukraine 2-1 in their opener.

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Lautaro Martinez scored an extra-time winner as Argentina beat Colombia 1-0 to win a record 16th Copa America title at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.

A poor game which had been marred by security and crowd issues, forcing an 82-minute delay, was decided by a quality finish from Martinez — his fifth goal of the tournament.

The win was the third straight major tournament title for Argentina following their 2021 Copa America victory and their triumph in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

There were tears before the celebrations though with Argentina captain Lionel Messi going off injured in the 66th minute watching the rest of the game distraught on the bench, while there was an emotional farewell for Angel Di Maria in his final game for the national team.

For Colombia, whose only title came in the 2001 Copa America, it was a disappointing night when little seemed to work for Nestor Lorenzo’s team.

Colombia’s Jhon Corboba hit the bottom of the post with a speculative shot in the seventh minute but neither side were able to find their flow in the early stages.

Di Maria found Messi in the 20th minute with a low ball into the box and Messi’s left-foot shot was saved by Colombia keeper Camilo Vargas.

Colombia had looked the more lively in the opening period and they went close in the 33rd minute when Jefferson Lerma tried his luck from 25 yards out and his low drive forced Emiliano Martinez into a diving save.

There was concern for Messi in the 36th minute when he dribbled to the byline but was halted by a sliding challenge from Santiago Arias which was ruled fair left the Argentine captain needing treatment.

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Messi, who now plays his club football in Miami, then curled a free-kick in from the left flank but Nicolas Tagliafico’s header was just off target.

It had been a disappointing first half and it didn’t improve much after the break, when the fans had at least received some entertainment from Colombian singer Shakira.

Argentina failed to deal with a James Rodriguez corner and the ball looped to Davinson Sanchez but he was unable to keep down his header which floated over the bar.

There was finally some of the expected quality when Di Maria produced one of his trademark runs in from the left and forced Vargas into action, the Colombia keeper turning the ball wide of the post.

Then came a major blow for Argentine hopes when Messi went down, without contact, as he ran in midfield, and clearly in pain he went off to be replaced by Nicolas Gonzalez in the 66th minute.

It was too much for Messi, in what may have been his last major tournament, as he sat in tears on the bench, unable to hold back his emotions.

The Argentine fans thought they had grabbed a winner in the 75th minute when Tagliafico found Gonzalez in the box, who beat Vargas with a low drive but the effort was ruled out for offside.

Little changed in extra-time with a half-chance from Miguel Borja after a flick from Jorge Carrascal but the game was settled by a worthy winner.

Leandro Paredes won the ball in midfield for Argentina with a perfectly timed tackle, found Giovani Lo Celso whose first time pass was perfect for the on-running Martinez who confidently fired home the winner.

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Lionel Messi was on target as world champions Argentina turned on the style to beat Canada 2-0 on Tuesday and reach the Copa America final where they will look for a third straight major title.

The defending Copa champions will face the winners of Wednesday’s semi-final between Uruguay and Colombia in what will be a highly anticipated final in Miami on Sunday.

The 15-times Copa champions produced their best display of the tournament in front of a capacity crowd at the 82,500 MetLife Stadium and as in their 2022 World Cup triumph they look to be peaking at the perfect moment.

“The truth is that it’s crazy what this group has done, what the Argentina national team has been doing,” Messi told TyC Sports after his first goal of the tournament.

“It’s not easy for us to be in a final again, for us to compete again to be champions. I’m living it like I lived it in the last Copa America, in the last World Cup…These are the last battles and I’m enjoying them to the maximum,” said the 37-year-old.

Canada, who surprised many by reaching the last four in their first Copa America appearance, can take great credit for their run in the tournament but Messi and company were simply a step too far.

“I think the tournament caught up with us a little bit,” said Canada’s American coach Marsch, who said he noticed that his players looked tired midway through the first half.

“Eventually the physicality and fatigue can catch up with you and that was a big part of what happened with us tonight,” he added.

Marsch’s side had progressed by hitting teams with high-energy football straight out of the gate but after an early opening for left-winger Jacob Shaffelburg, who fired wide after cutting in from the flank, the South Americans took control and never gave it up.

Angel Di Maria, the veteran wide-man playing in his final tournament for his country, was seeing plenty of the ball down the right and he offered an early warning of his threat when he picked out Messi with a ball inside which the forward flashed just wide of the post.

But it was Rodrigo De Paul who was to create the breakthrough in the 22nd minute, picking the ball up on the halfway line, taking a quick glance up and then lofting the ball over the top to Julian Alvarez.

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The Manchester City forward recalled to the starting line-up ahead of Lautaro Martinez, delivered a deft first touch that took him away from Moises Bombito and gave him just enough room to drive the ball home.

The classy triangle of Di Maria, Messi and De Paul, was a constant source of danger for Canada’s back line and the former threatened a second with a chip from the right which floated over the bar.

The assuredness of Argentina’s build-up play reflects the confidence of coach Lionel Scaloni’s team, a well-drilled unit but one that never allows their organisational solidity to dominate over their creativity.

Two minutes before the break, former Real Madrid winger Di Maria provided a slide-rule pass to Messi, who worked himself space for a shot on his right foot, but he was narrowly wide of Max Crepeau’s right-hand post.

Canada’s American coach Marsch had plenty of work to do at the interval if he was to find a way of getting his team back on level terms and any strategy went out of the window when the world champions doubled their lead, just six minutes after the restart.

The excellent De Paul pulled the ball back from the byline to Enzo Fernandez and his side-foot shot was directed home by Messi in front of goal.

For a moment Canada had hope that Messi may have been offside but the VAR review showed that defender Derek Cornelius had played him onside.

With the two-goal cushion established, Argentina were content to sit back and preserve their energy and invite the Canadians to take them on.

It was not until the final minutes though that Canada were able to trouble Emiliano Martinez with substitute Tani Oluwaseyi forcing the keeper into action after some sloppy defending.

But it was a comfortable victory for Scaloni’s men and one which leaves them one win away from a record 16th Copa America triumph.

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Argentina captain Lionel Messi is doubtful for the upcoming Copa America quarter-final clash against Ecuador with coach Lionel Scaloni saying he will wait before deciding on his team.

Messi missed Argentina’s final group stage match on Saturday, a 2-0 win over Peru, after complaining of a sore right hamstring.

Argentina will hold a training session later on Wednesday and Scaloni said he would make any decision afterwards.

“We’ll wait a couple of hours and make the decision. It is always better to have one more day,” he told a press conference.

“Yesterday we had good feelings and we’ll take this day to define the team based on the response we get today,” he added.

Scaloni said he would consult with the 37-year-old Messi about his readiness for the game.

“We’ll try to get him in and then, if he’s not (ready), we’ll look for the best solution for the team. I’ll talk to him today. I think it’s fair that he takes his time and trains as much as possible,” he said.

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Scaloni made nine changes against Peru as he took the chance to rotate his squad with qualification to the knockout stage already secured.

Should Lionel Messi not be ready to start against Ecuador, Scaloni could start with both Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez as twin strikers in attack.

Lautaro is the top scorer in the Copa America so far with four goals from three games, including a double against Peru while Alvarez found the target in the opening game against Canada.

“They have already played together against this rival. We will make the decision after today’s training session. We are not ruling anything out because they have worked well and it is an option, it could be,” said Scaloni.

“Lautaro is doing very well, in a good moment, the same as Julian. Lautaro has not only done well, but he has waited for his chance and that makes me very happy. They both scored goals, let’s hope that streak continues tomorrow. We are satisfied with their contributions,” he said.

Ecuador coach Felix Sanchez said he doesn’t expect a radical change of approach from Argentina — with or without Messi.

“We know we are playing a high level team, Lionel Messi is the player that makes the difference and we have played against them with him and without him on the field,” he said.

“Their gameplan doesn’t change much – they are a group who have been with their head coach for a long time, they know their gameplan and we have had to be ready either way,” added the Spaniard.

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Lionel Messi will miss Argentina’s final Copa America group game against Peru after complaining of muscle tightness, team officials said on Friday.

Assistant coach Walter Samuel told a press conference that the Inter Miami superstar was “day-by-day” following an injury to his right adductor muscle.

“Leo had a problem in the last game, he won’t be there for this game,” Samuel said. “We are going to go day-by-day waiting for its evolution.”

Samuel, meanwhile, played down the impact of Lionel Messi’s absence on the rest of the team.

“The team has always proven to be up to the task before when he wasn’t there,” said Samuel, hinting that veteran Angel Di Maria may start in place of Messi.

Argentina have already booked their place in the quarter-finals after wins against Canada and Chile in their opening two matches.

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A draw in Saturday’s game against Peru at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami will guarantee Argentina qualify for the last eight as group winners.

Argentina is expected to rest several first-choice players against Peru, although Samuel insisted on Friday the world champions would seek a win.

“Peru has top players; we are taking this game with the utmost seriousness,” said Samuel, who will be in charge on the bench with coach Lionel Scaloni serving a one-game suspension.

Scaloni and Argentina were sanctioned after the team were late to emerge for the second half in their games against Chile and Canada.

Samuel said Scaloni was “a little bitter” about the suspension.

“We consider ourselves a correct coaching staff and in all these years we’ve never had these kind of sanctions,” Samuel said.

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Argentina star Lionel Messi became the most-capped player in Copa America history on Thursday as he reached 35 appearances in the opening match of the tournament against Canada.

The 36-year-old had shared the record with Chilean goalkeeper Sergio Livingstone (34 caps) since appearing in the final of the 2021 Copa America in Brazil, where Argentina triumphed.

Messi’s appearances have been spread across seven editions of the Copa America, starting with the 2007 tournament in Venezuela.

The eight-times Ballon d’Or winner could set more records in this year’s competition — he needs four goals to tie compatriot Norberto Mendez and Brazil’s Zizinho as all-time Copa America scorer with 17 goals.

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Should Argentina win the tournament, Messi would also become the first captain to win back-to-back tournaments.

Notably, the ongoing Copa America is set to be Messi’s final edition of the continental championship as he is set to turn 37 on Monday.

Meanwhile, winger Angel Di Maria, 36, is approaching the end of his career, signalling an era’s conclusion for Argentina.

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni has urged his compatriots not to worry about when Messi and Di Maria will hang up their boots and to instead just enjoy watching them in the Copa America.

“It doesn’t make much sense to think about when they’re gone. Let’s enjoy them now, we’ll see what happens later. Messi is fine, he’s happy. I’m with renewed ideas and strength. It’s a nice challenge to defend the title,” Scaloni said.

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MARYLAND: Lionel Messi scored twice as Argentina wrapped up their preparations for the Copa America with a 4-1 friendly victory over Guatemala here at Commanders Field on Friday.

Messi grabbed an early equaliser and then dinked in Argentina’s fourth as the world champions came from behind in what was their final game before they launch the defence of their Copa America crown against Canada in Atlanta next Thursday.

Guatemala took a shock lead after only four minutes at Commanders Field in Landover when a free-kick from Oscar Santis from wide on the left sowed confusion in the Argentina defence.

Santis’s cross bobbled across the six-yard box and ended with Manchester United’s Lisandro Martinez scooping an attempted clearance into his net for an own goal.

But Argentina did not have to wait long to get back on level terms and equalised in the 12th minute after a disastrous blunder by Guatemala goalkeeper Nicholas Hagen.

Under no real pressure, Hagen screwed an attempted clearance from a back pass straight to an unmarked Messi in the middle of the penalty area.

The Argentina captain duly took full advantage of his gift-wrapped opportunity, taking a touch and coolly tucking away his 107th international goal.

Thereafter it was a question of when or not Argentina would add their second, with Guatemala sitting deep and inviting pressure.

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Argentina eventually took the lead from the penalty spot on 39 minutes after Guatemala defender Nicolas Samayoa chopped down Valentin Carboni after the 19-year-old forward darted to the byline.

Messi elected to pass up the opportunity of the spot-kick, and instead, it was Lautaro Martinez who stepped up to fire home the penalty and make it 2-1.

Argentina almost extended their lead on the stroke of half-time when Messi crashed a low rasping free-kick from the edge of the area against the inside of the post.

Lautaro Martinez’s overhead kick from the rebound also hit the woodwork, and although Lisandro Martinez bundled the loose ball into the net, the Manchester United defender was ruled offside.

The Argentines made it 3-1 on 66 minutes with a fine team goal.

Messi found Enzo Fernandez in space on the edge of the area, and the Chelsea midfielder then threaded a pass back to Messi inside the penalty area.

The Inter Miami star’s first touch teed up Lautaro Martinez for a simple close-range finish.

Messi then completed his double with the goal of the game on 77 minutes, latching onto a sublime through ball from fellow veteran Angel Di Maria and lifting a deft finish over Hagen for 4-1.

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The absence of captain Lionel Messi didn’t slow Argentina on Friday as the world champions warmed up for their Copa America title defence with a 3-0 friendly victory over El Salvador in Philadelphia.

Defender Cristian Romero opened the scoring in the 16th minute with Enzo Fernández in the 42nd and Giovani Lo Celso in the 52nd completing the victory at Lincoln Financial Field, home of the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles.

Lionel Messi, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner now starring for Major League Soccer’s Inter Miami, was ruled out of Friday’s match and Argentina’s friendly against Costa Rica in Los Angeles next week after tweaking a hamstring in Miami’s 3-1 victory over Nashville in the CONCACAF Champions Cup this month.

On a chilly night in Philadelphia, Argentina didn’t need him to comfortably win their first friendly of the year against a team that has now gone 21 matches without a win.

Romero was the first to break through against the team coached by Spain’s David Doniga, rising to head home a corner kick taken by Angel Di Maria.

Minutes before halftime, Di Maria received the ball on the right flank and set up Rodrigo de Paul, whose back pass was headed by Lo Celso to Fernandez who slotted home from in front of the goal.

After the break. it was Lo Celso’s turn as he finished off another brilliant connection between Di Maria and Lautaro Martinez with a left-footed shot.

The match saw Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni take the opportunity to give minutes to youngsters Alejandro Garnacho and Valentin Barco — the 19-year-old left-back signed by Brighton in January who stood out for the U-23 team in qualifying for the Paris Olympics.

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Argentina defeated Brazil 1-0 on Tuesday in an ill-tempered FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers clash marred by pre-match crowd trouble that forced kick-off to be delayed.

A 63rd-minute header from veteran defender Nicolas Otamendi secured victory for Argentina as the world champions bounced back from last week’s defeat to Uruguay to beat their bitter South American rivals.

The win at Rio’s iconic Maracana Stadium leaves Argentina on top of the South American qualifying standings with 15 points from six games.

Brazil’s third defeat of qualifying, meanwhile, leaves the five-time world champions in sixth place with seven points from six games.

Tempers had flared in the stands at the Maracana moments before kick-off, with Brazilian police seen using batons to drive back a block of Argentine fans at one end of the ground.

Several Argentina players went towards the disturbances in an apparent attempt to plead for calm, with goalkeeper Emi Martinez attempting to jump into the seating area at one stage to confront a baton-wielding Brazilian police officer.

Argentina’s players led by Lionel Messi then returned to their dressing room as the clashes continued, with Messi appearing to say: “We’re not playing, we’re leaving.”

The 2022 World Cup winners re-emerged onto the field shortly before 10 pm local time and the match kicked off shortly afterwards, roughly 30 minutes later than the scheduled start time.

The febrile pre-match atmosphere spilt onto the field when play finally got underway, with Brazi’s Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus being given a yellow card after just five minutes after clashing with Argentina’s Rodrigo De Paul.

The tense nature of the contest continued throughout a poor first half, with neither side creating much in the way of goalscoring opportunities in a game littered with niggly fouls.

Brazil winger Raphinha was booked in the 14th minute for flinging an arm into the face of De Paul and was lucky not to receive a second yellow five minutes later after catching Alexis MacAllister with a wild studs-up challenge.

Brazil meanwhile failed to register a single shot — either on or off target — until a 38th-minute free-kick from Raphinha deflected wide for a corner.

The only shot on goal from either side in the entire first half came on 44 minutes when Brazil’s Gabriel Martinelli lashed a muffed clearance from Argentina goalkeeper Martinez back towards goal.

Martinelli’s shot was heading for the net but Argentina breathed a sigh of relief after defender Cristian Romero blocked the effort on the line.

Brazil started the second half more positively, with Raphinha having a shot blocked at the near post by Martinez after 54 minutes.

Martinez then rescued Argentina again, parrying Martinelli’s goal-bound shot after a good run by Gabriel.

But Brazil were rocked after Argentina took the lead on 63 minutes with their first attempt on target of the match.

Giovani Lo Celso swung in an inviting corner from the left and the 35-year-old Otamendi soared above Brazil midfielder Andre to head home for 1-0.

A miserable night for Brazil got worse in the 82nd minute when substitute Joelinton — who had only been on the field for 12 minutes — was sent off for an off-the-ball clash with De Paul.

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Uruguay ended the 14-match unbeaten streak of Argentina with a 2-0 victory over the world champions in World Cup qualifiers on Thursday.

Defender Ronald Araujo fired Uruguay ahead in 41 minutes before Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez made the game safe with an 87th-minute goal on the counterattack to settle a hard-fought clash at the Bombonera Stadium in Buenos Aires.

It was Lionel Messi and Argentina’s first defeat of the World Cup 2026 qualifying campaign, and their first loss since they were stunned 2-1 by Saudi Arabia at the World Cup 2022 in Qatar before becoming the eventual champions.

“We never felt comfortable,” Messi said after the defeat.

“They’re a physical team that works well and on the counterattack, they were very dangerous,” added Messi, praising the work of Uruguay’s revered Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa.

“You can see his hand in the team. In all the teams or clubs he’s been involved in, including Argentina, you can see his hand,” said Messi.

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni meanwhile backed his team to recover from the loss against Uruguay before next week’s showdown with Brazil.

“There is a very difficult game coming up and we will try to do our best; I think this team has shown plenty of times that it can get out of difficult situations,” Scaloni said.

“We lose and win as a team, and there are times when you have to give credit to the opponent,” Scaloni added.

“We can’t think that because we’re world champions, we can’t lose. We are not unbeatable — I’ve said it before and will continue to say it.”

Argentina, who had won all four of their opening qualifiers, remain on top of the standings with 12 points from five matches. Uruguay’s win leaves them in second place on 10 points.

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