The Copa America Centenario has come to a close in what was a thrilling event hosted by the United States. The final proved to be a rematch of last year's ultimate game, with Chile stumping Argentina once again.
It was guaranteed to be a feisty affair between two teams with a heated history. After 28 minutes, Chilean midfielder Marcelo Diaz was sent off the field for his second yellow card. Fifteen minutes later, Argentina defender Marcos Rojo was given a straight red card to even up the playing field at 10 men a side. But despite the extra space for the remaining players, neither team could find the back of the net.
After 120 minutes without a goal, the match went to penalties, which started with misses from Argentina's Lionel Messi and Chile's Arturo Vidal – arguably the best players for either team. Chile hit their next four, whereas Argentina midfielder Lucas Biglia missed one, giving Chile the Copa America title for a second straight season. Chile took home three individual awards: Alexis Sanchez received the Golden Ball Award as the player of the tournament, Eduardo Vargas' six goals netted him the Golden Boot Award, and keeper Claudio Bravo won the Golden Glove award.
It was a tough night for Messi, who has now lost four finals with Argentina. He’s one of the greatest players in history and stunned a lot of people by announcing his retirement from the national team.
The third-place game was played on Saturday in Glendale between the United States and Colombia, with 49% possession going to USA and 51% possession going to Colombia. The Colombians managed 13 shots on goals, with three on target, and the Americans registered 11 shots on goal, with two on target. All it took was one goal from Carlos Bacca in the 31st minute to give Colombia a 1-0 win. It was Colombia’s second win over the hosts, having won 2-0 in the opening game of the tournament too, but this match was much closer because the Americans put the pressure on right out of the gate.
Colombia went on the counter-attack with James Rodriguez hitting a ball over the back of the defense to Santiago Arias, who got it to Bacca for his second goal of the tournament. The Americans didn't back down, though, and continued to press for an equalizer. It didn’t happen, but it was still a solid tournament for them. Overall, it was a successful Copa America Centenario, which was held outside of South America for the first time.
*Odds as of June 27, 2016