Argentina’s 3rd Time Lucky? Nothing but Victory Will Do in the Copa America

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at Internationaled.org

Published: June 25, 2016

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For the third time in as many years, Argentina will be lining up on Sunday for a major international final. But this time only a victory will suffice for the Albiceleste: Failure to lift the Copa America Centenario against Chile could only be interpreted as a catastrophe. 

To paraphrase the great Oscar Wilde, to lose one final may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness. To lose another, then, would be a body blow for Gerardo Martino, his players and especially Lionel Messi—the world's finest football player who as yet cannot boast an international title to display alongside his unparalleled success at club level. 

The good news for Argentina is that ahead of the final, Messi has been at his very finest. It was a slow start for the Barcelona phenomenon, who missed the first game against Sunday's fellow finalists through injury. 

Messi then burst onto the Copa scene with an incredible second-half hat-trick off the bench to sink Panama. That 5-0 drubbing set the tone for a tournament that has featured attacking of the finest quality from the Albiceleste. 

A quintet of goals against the Canaleros was followed by a routine 3-0 win over Bolivia, with all three goals coming in the first half to assure first place in Group D. Venezuela were up next and were vanquished by a wonderful display of sustained offensive brilliance in a 4-1 rout. 

The best, however, was yet to come. Hosts United States were on a roll with three consecutive victories, but they had no answer to either the majestic Messi, who repeated his Vinotinto haul with a stunning goal and two assists, and the rest of the rampant Albiceleste. 

Jurgen Klinsmann's men never looked like taking anything in Houston, and it was not just Messi. From the goal-hungry Gonzalo Higuain to metronomic Ever Banega in midfield, and even the supporting cast of Augusto Fernandez and Ezequ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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