Colombia, thanks to a goal from Lerma, defeated Uruguay 1-0 in the Copa América semi-final and will now face Argentina in the final. To date, Argentina and Uruguay have both won the Copa América 15 times, the most of any team in the competition’s history. But now, Messi has the opportunity to lead the Pampas Eagles to their 16th Copa América title, surpassing Uruguay to become the “first team” in the competition’s history.
Led by Messi, this Argentina team is one of the most competitive teams in world football in recent years. In the 2021 Copa América, Messi led Argentina to victory over Brazil in the final, winning the Copa América. In the 2022 World Cup, Messi again led Argentina to victory in the final, defeating France to win the World Cup. The Argentina team continues to play very strongly in the 2024 Copa América.
During the group stage, Argentina defeated Canada, Chile and Peru in succession, locking in the top spot in the group with a perfect record and advancing to the knockout stages. In the quarter-finals, Argentina defeated Ecuador after a penalty shootout. In the semi-finals, Argentina defeated Canada 2-0, successfully advancing to the final. After Argentina’s first-place finish, Colombia now also defeated Uruguay and entered the final.
For Argentina, Colombia is undoubtedly the opponent they would rather face in the final. Historically, Argentina and Uruguay have met 12 times in the Copa América final, but Argentina has only won two of those matches, the 1927 and 1941 Copa América. The other 10 final encounters were won by Uruguay. It is worth mentioning that Argentina and Uruguay also met once in the World Cup final, in 1930. Uruguay defeated Argentina in that World Cup final to win the championship.
Therefore, considering the historical head-to-head record, Argentina might truly be thankful that Uruguay is not the opponent facing them in the Copa América final, but rather Colombia.
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