Rio de Janeiro: Argentina defeated Brazil 1-0 to win its first Copa America title since 1993 at the iconic Marcana Stadium here.
Ángel Di Maria scored the only goal of the final in 22nd minute. It was Argentina's 15th Copa America title.
It is also Argentina captain Lionel Messi's first major tournament win with his national side. It was the same stadium where Messi-led Argentina was defeated by Germany in 2014 World Cup Final.
The Copa America football matches were postponed last year because of the pandemic. The tournament was initially set to take place in Argentina and Colombia. However, the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) denied Colombia the privilege of organizing the competition due to nationwide protests. Later, Argentina was also ruled out because of the coronavirus situation there.
In June, requests were made by several groups to block the competition from being held in Brazil over COVID-19 risks. Nonetheless, Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled that the 2021 Copa America football tournament would go on as planned. The tournament was played in the Brazilian states of Rio de Janeiro, Goias, Mato Grosso, as well as the Federal District. (UNI inputs)