For the fifth time in history, Argentina shouted champion consecutively in the Copa America (1927-1929, 1945-1947, 1957-1959, and 1991-1993), by defeating in a tough final the Colombian national team with a goal scored by Lautaro Martínez in the extra time of the match held at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, despite not having Leo Messi for a good part of the game due to injury.
In this way, they lifted the trophy for the 16th time and became the most successful team in the tournament, surpassing and breaking the tie with Uruguay, who finished in third place in this edition.
There is no doubt that Lionel Messi's last sporting years have become the most fruitful of his spectacular career in the Albiceleste national team in almost 20 years of presence, which categorizes him by many fans and specialists as one of the greatest dynasties in the history of football and any sport discipline.
Dynasty that grew stronger from the bottom up
Millions of Argentinians and fans of "La Pulga" celebrate a new victory of the current world champion, however, the road was by no means easy and was filled with several defeats in the attempt to break a 28-year title drought.
In order for Messi to lead this dynasty, he had to taste defeat in four finals. The first time was at 20 years old, when a Brazil "B" team without their ideal lineup at the time, defeated Argentina under "Coco" Basile, 3-0 in Maracaibo during the 2007 edition in Venezuela. The second blow came in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and the third and fourth times, in consecutive years (2015-2016), his tormentor was the Chilean national team, first in the Chilean capital and then in the United States respectively.
With a renovation led by Lionel Scaloni and the arrival of great pillars such as Rodrigo de Paul, Cristian “Cuti” Romero, Lisandro Martínez, Emiliano “Dibu” Martínez, Enzo Fernández, Alexis Mac Callister, Julián Álvarez, among others, along with the continuity of the old guard like Ángel Di María, Leandro Paredes, and Nicolás Otamendi, Argentina managed to return to the pinnacle of glory and once again become a winning team that is already, two years before the event, one of the favorites in the upcoming 2026 World Cup, which will be held for the first time across three countries (Canada-United States-Mexico).
Now it is a dynasty, similar to Spain’s which consecutively won a Euro (2008), a World Cup (2010), and another Euro (2012). In the case of Argentina, they have won the last three tournaments they played: Copa America 2021, World Cup 2022, and Copa America 2024.