Lionel Messi won his first international trophy with Argentina, after defeating Brazil, in the Copa America final of the 2021 season, with a score of 1-0, at Maracana, on Sunday. Messi, played brilliantly, throughout the tournament, and probably it was his last chance to give his nation an international trophy under his reign, and he left no stones unturned to do that.
Performance of Messi throughout the tournament
Messi is a 34-year-old Argentine legend, at which age, many footballers even retire. He at this age proved that form is temporary and class is permanent. He ended up with the tournament’s best player as well as the top scorer, with 4 goals, and also performed 5 assists.
The last time Argentina played in the Copa America final, was in 2016, and they got a defeat against Chile in the penalty shootout, where Messi missed the penalty. Coming from that mental state, and getting knocked out by France on the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Messi struck back excellently on Copa America 2021, and successfully attained his first international trophy with Argentina.
Getting past the Great Players
Before the final match of Copa America 2021, Messi was in the same position, where was Pele, Maradona, as well as Neymar, who are football legends but never won a Copa America tournament. With the victory of the match played on Sunday, Lionel Messi came out of that list and achieved a memorable honor.
Ended all the debates of being a G.O.A.T.
There have been many speculations and arguments regarding Messi’s greatness, by many fans as well as experts, regarding despite being one of the greatest, he has never given his team a single international trophy.
This is certain if Argentina would lose this match, Messi would always remain like a tragic hero, as it was probably his last Copa America. However, the legendary G.O.A.T Lionel Messi ended all these debates of being one of the greatest, when Argentina sealed the victory against Brazil on Sunday by a score of 1-0.
Read More: A look at Copa America 2021 by the numbers
