The details of the 2024 Copa America final continue to emerge, and this time it was a starting player from the Colombian national team who revealed what Lionel Messi and the other Argentine players did to prevent “La Tricolor” from playing their best game in the match that decided the champion.
After Colombia’s 1-0 defeat against Argentina, Davinson Sanchez attended an event with Nike Colombia and, in a conversation with DSports channel, analyzed the Copa America final. His message was very clear for Messi and his teammates.
“I remember the first 15, 20 minutes where we had everything to keep pressing and score, but then came the moment of Messi’s injury, which no one wants. The pace slowed down, then we went back on the attack, and they started with, ‘It hurts here, it hurts there.’ They slowed down the game a bit,” Sánchez stated, and the most controversial part was yet to come.
Argentina improved in the first minutes of the second half and managed two shots on goal. The Colombian national team tried to dominate the game again and had a clear chance, but the strategy of the Argentine players, already without Lionel Messi on the field since the 66th minute, would prove effective once more.
“In the second half, they started a bit better than in the first, but we also had opportunities. We talked all the time about not losing momentum, the desire, being there with chances or near their goal, and it happened,” Davinson Sanchez told DSports channel.
What the Argentine players did to disrupt Colombia’s game
When making a general assessment of the 2024 Copa America final, Sanchez was clear and revealed what Messi and his teammates did to prevent Colombia from playing: “The game was prepared a lot, not just on the field. We stayed connected with ourselves and tried not to lose focus. They were specialists at that. In our best moments, they constantly slowed the game down, took more time to restart play, and argued with the referee. Well… In their own way, because we knew that if we could be consistent in our game, in our pressure, in our way of controlling them, we would find many more ways to score. For me, that was the key.”
Messi’s exit helped Argentina in the Final, according to Davinson Sanchez
“Messi’s exit was key, not only because someone (Nicolas Gonzalez) came in with a bit more physical endurance. At that moment, they took away our momentum because we were playing a very good game on the right side with Santiago Arias and Richard Rios. They moved Di Maria to block Santiago, and the game became more balanced. They didn’t dominate us, but it became more even, and we tried to find a way back into the game, but it took time. When we found our way back into the game, they adjusted again, and it took more time. Unfortunately, as I said, we found our way back too late, and they won the game,” concluded Davinson Sanchez.
