So Lionel Messi finally has his first international tournament win and Argentina are Champions of South America, after winning the 2021 Copa America by beating Brazil in a pulsating final.
The Copa America 2021 betting odds installed the Selecao as tournament favourites and here at SBOTOP we predicted, and hoped for, an Argentina versus Brazil final; and it didn’t disappoint. It was Argentina’s first major trophy since 1993 and Messi was in imperious form throughout, scoring four goals, including two of his trademark free-kicks and making five assists.
Alongside Lautaro Martinez, Messi pushed the Albiceleste forward at every opportunity and they played without fear from start to finish, and he ended up winning both the Golden Boot and Player of the Tournament awards. As the last line of defence Argentina’s Emiliano Martinez won the Golden Glove award and top quality performances right the way through the team made Argentina worthy champions.
Finalists Brazil had a star of their own in Neymar as the Paris Saint-Germain man put in some superb performances but he couldn’t inspire his own team to glory.
We expected Messi and Neymar to star, as they always do, but there were plenty more impressive performances to enjoy and here we’re taking a look at three more Copa standouts.
Rodrigo De Paul: Argentina
With stars at either end of the pitch, the Albiceleste took care of matters in the penalty areas but they had big players throughout the team, no more so than midfield man De Paul. The Udinese star created the winning goal in the final, seizing on a mistake by Renan Lodi before sending in a brilliant cross for Angel Di Maria to convert.
As Brazil tried to hit back Martinez made a superb block to deny Neymar and the job was done, but De Paul’s contribution can’t be overstated. His excellent ball retention and passing took some pressure off the shoulders of Messi as well as creating the space and some ammunition for the captain and Martinez to stretch defences. He linked up well with Giovani Lo Celso and put in plenty of hard work to break up opposition possession. Argentina’s improved midfield was one of the biggest factors in their long awaited success.
Luiz Diaz: Colombia
24 year old Porto winger Diaz had a real breakout tournament, scoring spectacular goals as Los Cafeteros made the semi-finals of Copa America 2021. Juventus wide man Juan Cuadrado came with the biggest reputation in the team but Diaz’ star began to rise from the moment he scored the goal of the competition, a spectacular overhead kick to give Colombia a 1-0 lead over Brazil. He built on that performance, scoring against Argentina and Diaz ended the tournament by scoring a last gasp screamer to elevate Los Cafeteros to third place thanks to a 3-2 victory over Peru.
That was his second goal of the third placed play-off which meant he finished the tournament with four; and his dynamic running and incisive passing made him Colombia’s most productive player, hogging the Copa America 2021 highlights for his team.
Piero Hincapie: Ecuador
A brave 1-1 draw with Brazil was enough to see Ecuador through to the quarter finals and the 19-year-old Hincapie was a rock at the heart of his team’s defence. With only 14 competitive games for his club Talleres, Hincapie came to the Copa as one of the least experienced defenders but by the end of five games he looked like a seasoned professional. His ability to make vital interceptions and play the ball out of defence attracted interest from some top clubs in Europe and Serie A club Lazio are rumoured to be preparing a bid.
A Copa America to forget…
Not every player had a great competition, in fact one or two had a bit of a stinker at times. Manchester United midfielder Fred had a decidedly patchy tournament, making an assist in Brazil’s 4-0 thrashing against Peru but doing little else to catch the eye, and he went missing in the showcase final against Argentina. He earned a yellow card with just three minutes on the clock and then struggled to make any impact, all too often off the pace and making very few interceptions, he was a passenger for long periods of the game. Benfica’s Everton was similarly ineffective in the final, having no shots and making just 11 passes in his 63 minutes on the pitch before head coach Tite put him out of his misery.
Brazil beat Chile in the quarter final thanks to a goal from Lucas Paqueta, despite going down to ten men when Gabriel Jesus was sent off. Chile will have seen this as a missed chance as neither Alexis Sanchez nor Eduardo Vargas could break the Brazilian resistance; but experienced midfielder Charles Aranguiz will be most disappointed with his contribution, making just two crosses in the entire game and failing to beat the Brazil defence with either.
He’s a quality player and will remain a key part of Chile’s World Cup campaign but Aranguiz would rather just forget his final appearance at the Copa.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
