An incredible Copa America final couldn't be decided in regulation,
and not even an extra half hour of time could decide the match. After a
shocking penalty shootout, it was Chile wheeling away in celebration,
dominating the shootout to win it 4-1.
The match got off to an absolutely thrilling start, with scoring
chances at both ends only kept at bay by desperation defending. Both teams exploded out
of the gates, throwing absolutely everything they could muster at one another
trying to find some kind of crack in each others' defenses to open the scoring.
The pace was electric, the tackles were full-blooded, and the
chances brought you out of your seat. Arturo Vidal drew a sublime reaction save
from Sergio Romero when he tried to volley in a rebounded shot, then Lionel
Messi sent in a perfectly placed free kick that Kun Agüero was an inch from
heading home. Edu Vargas went on a scintillating run after being slipped
through behind Argentina's defense, and Angel Di Maria responded with a
galloping trip up the pitch of his own.
Di Maria's run came with a high cost for Argentina, though --
after being targeted by a number of hard tackles from Chile earlier in the
match, Di Maria's body just couldn't take the strain of the run. He came up
short before he could penetrate into the box, and ultimately had to get subbed
off clutching his hamstring. Of course, Argentina don't lack for talent in
their side, and Ezequiel Lavezzi was introduced as a pretty darn good Plan B.
The match went into the half scoreless, but not for lack of
effort. Chile had more shots, but Argentina were more dangerous with theirs.
The energy and effort was incredible -- and it didn't slow down one bit when
the second half kicked off.
Chile kept edging the possession battle early in the second
half, but Argentina slowly started to stamp their authority onto the match. The Albiceleste were
taking control, and for all the fight Chile were mustering, they couldn't keep
Argentina from asserting their will. Chile kept fighting back and trying to keep
their opponents off balance, and scrambled away a few more chances of their own
-- but couldn't get the job done on their best chance of the match, in the 82nd
minute when Alexis Sanchez volleyed a shot in but pushed it wide instead of on
target.
There was a moment of controversy not long later, when Mauricio
Isla was sent tumbling after a hard challenge from Marcos Rojo -- who was
already on a yellow card after a similar incident early in the second half. The
challenge looked potentially worthy of a second yellow card and a sending off,
but the Colombian referee, Wilmar Roldan, left his cards in his pocket and
allowed Rojo to stay on the pitch.
Argentina thought they had it won moments later when Lavezzi was
sprung off a throughball and looked to be clear in on goal -- but the offside
flag went up, and rightfully so, keeping the Argentines off the scoreboard. A
frenetic finish to regular time at both ends of the pitch included an Argentina
penalty shout being waved away, a missed shot by Chile, and Gonzalo Higuain's
last-gasp effort in the final seconds of regulation going to the wrong side of
the back post to force extra time.
Extra time was marred by further missed chances, the most
stunning of which came when Alexis Sanchez was set free off a goal kick, beating
Javier Mascherano easily -- but then ruining it all by skying his shot. Despite
some massive efforts at both ends of the pitch, neither side could find that
elusive goal, with penalty shouts for both Argentina and Chile going unanswered
by the referee.
That left the match in the hands of the ever-difficult penalty
shootout, started out with a scorching shot from Mati Fernandez that Sergio
Romero couldn't stop from reaching the top corner. Lionel Messi wasn't to be
outdone, easily beating his club teammate Claudio Bravo with a low shot that
the Chilean simply couldn't reach.
That would prove to be the only penalty that Argentina
converted, thanks to absolutely shocking misses from Gonzalo Higuain and Ever
Banega. Chile went 3-for-3, and Alexis Sanchez stepped up with a chance to win
it for Chile -- and converted his shot easily, wheeling away in joy as Chile
celebrated winning the Copa America on home soil.
It was an absolutely tremendous
performance from the winners, and Chile fully deserve their victory. They were
a favorite coming into this tournament for a reason, and now they've proved all
of their doubters wrong. Santiago is going to be a heck of a fun place to be
tonight.
Chile: Claudio Bravo; Mauricio Isla, Gary Medel, Francisco
Silva, Jean Beausejour; Charles Aranguiz, Marcelo Diaz, Arturo Vidal;
Jorge Valdivia (Mati Fernandez 74'); Alexis Sanchez, Eduardo
Vargas (Angelo Henriquez 95')
Goals:
None Penalties: Fernandez made, Vidal made, Aranguiz made, Sanchez made
Argentina: Sergio Romero; Pablo
Zabaleta, Martin Demichelis, Nicolas Otamendi, Marcos Rojo; Lucas Biglia, Javier
Mascherano, Javier Pastore (Ever Banega 81'); Angel Di Maria
(Ezequiel Lavezzi 29'), Sergio Agüero (Gonzalo Higuain 74'), Lionel Messi
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