Messi and Argentina face in-form Colombia in Copa America final

On Sunday, the Copa America will see a new final fixture for the very first time in history as the duo of defending champion Argentina and Colombia goal head to head at Hard Rock Gardens in Miami, Florida.

It is not surprising that it is the first time the two teams will meet in the final, partly because it is going to be Colombia’s third-ever final appearance compared to Argentina’s 30th Copa América final.

The game will be played at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium but with a slightly different rule compared to the other knockout fixtures in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, where there was no extra time, as matches that ended in draws in regular time were headed into penalties. However, there will be extra time and penalties on Sunday if there are no winners after 90 minutes.

La Albiceleste’s form in America should fear Colombia, as their 2-0 semi-final win over Canada means that the record 15-time Copa América champions have won their last ten internationals since losing 2-0 to Uruguay in November.

It is the same Uruguay team that a 10-man Colombia dispatched 1-0 in the semi-final. However, knowing that Lionel Scaloni’s side are looking to win a third successive major title after winning the 2021 Copa América and the 2022 World Cup, Colombia will have to do more than enough to spoil the farewell party of Angel di Maria and Lionel Messi.

Colombia are not in a bad place either as it was unbeaten in 28 matches and won 22 matches in that period. The last time they got to the final of the Copa América was on home soil in 2001 when they won it.

They also have three clean sheets in the tournament after beating Panama 5-0 in. their quarter-final and Uruguay 1-0 in the semi-final. The game will happen on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.