"[The players] warmed up, cooled down, warmed up again, before the kick-off. Then we had 25 minutes of half-time, strange things for both teams," he said.

Argentina captain Lionel Messi sustained a leg injury during Copa America final against Colombia in Miami today.

Chaotic scenes erupted at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium on Monday as thousands of fans were kept waiting outside the venue ahead of the Copa America final between Argentina and Colombia.

Affectionately known as El Fideo, who has scored historic goals in the last three Albiceleste finals, posted a picture with the Rosario superstar and one of his great partners and teammates in the national team for the last 16 years.

Di Maria, 36, announced in November his plans to retire from internationals after representing his country for 15 years and Messi wants him to get his name on the scoresheet as he did against Brazil to clinch the continental title in 2021 and against France as they won the 2022 World Cup final.

Spain's teenage sensation Lamine Yamal hopes for his side to win the Euro 2024 final against England in Berlin and Lionel Messi's Argentina triumph against Colombia in the Copa America final just hours later in Florida on Monday so that the duo can have a go at each other in the "Finalissima".

Playing against aging stars like Messi and Angel Di Maria, Valencia thinks Colombia have an advantage.

Can Los Cafetoeros etch their name in football folklore once again?

Argentina superstar Lionel Messi is set to play in his 10th final in national colours when defending champions Argentina will face off against Colombia in the grand finale of the Copa America 2024 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Monday at 6 am Bangladesh time. In the nine finals he has played in so far, Messi has won five and lost four. He has found the net four times and provided four assists for his sides. Let’s take a look at the nine previous finals he played in.

He broke Lionel Messi’s record of most assists in a single Copa America campaign, with the Argentina captain having bagged five during Albiceleste’s title-winning campaign in 2021.

Lionel Messi said he was enjoying his "last battles" with Argentina after the 37-year-old found the net in a 2-0 win over Canada on Tuesday to book a place in the Copa America final.

Messi's 109th goal for Argentina also saw him surpass Iran's Ali Daei to take sole possession of second place on the all-time international scoring charts. Messi trails only Cristiano Ronaldo, who has scored 130 goals for Portugal.

Julian Alvarez and Lionel Messi scored the goals as Argentina advanced to Sunday's final in Miami where they will face either Colombia or Uruguay.

The Copa America is down to the final four with a pair of fascinating semifinals and favourites Argentina hoping they can win their third straight major title.

Messi returned to action on Thursday in Argentina's quarter-final win against Ecuador after missing the final group-stage match due to injury. He played the entire game, but looked physically hampered.

Images of a young Lionel Messi bathing a four-month-old Lamine Yamal has gone viral on social media recently, with fans astonished to see that Barcelona’s greatest-ever player and the club’s youngest-ever La Liga scorer crossed paths over 16 years ago.

“One more step... We suffered a lot against a tough opponent. We passed to the semis thanks to the work of everyone and on top of that we have the best goalkeeper in the world @emi_martinez26. Go Argentina!” Messi wrote on Instagram.

The Argentina captain also revealed the light-hearted conversation he had with Martinez before the match.

Football fans in Bangladesh will wake up bright and early today and stay up way past their usual bedtime, enjoying three mouthwatering knockout matches across two continents in a dream weekend of international football.

Brazil and Argentina have expectedly reached the quarterfinals of the Copa America 2024. The Selecao have a relatively more difficult road to the finale as they will face Uruguay in the last eight, whereas the Albiceleste will square off against Ecuador.