Copa America 2024 Final Preview
3 min
This will be the first ever time that these two nations will clash in the final of the Copa America. Both overcame tricky opponents on their way to reaching this stage so both will feel worthy of their place in this showpiece final, which is being held in the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
This will be the 30th time that Argentina are appearing in a Copa final whereas for Colombia, this will be just their third ever appearance. Since this is the final, both extra time and penalties can be used, whereas matches went straight to penalties in earlier rounds of the competition.
Argentina – What to expect
Argentina are in great form heading into this match, having won their last ten international matches since Uruguay beat them 2-0 last November and they have a very good record when it comes to matches played in the USA, having not lost here since being beaten by Romania in 1994. This is the third major final that they have reached in a row and will be looking to make it a hattrick of successes following on from their 2022 WC and 2021 Copa America wins. It would appear likely that both Angel di Maria and Lionel Messi will call time on their international careers after this tournament, so what better way for them to bow out than by adding another Copa America title to their collection. En route to the final, they got the better of Ecuador in the quarter-finals and followed that up with a 2-0 win over Canada in the semi-finals and they will go into this match as favourites to win.
Colombia – What to expect
Colombia are themselves on an excellent run as they find themselves unbeaten in 28 matches, winning 22 of those. They will be hoping that form can carry them to their first Copa final since 2001. They won that final on home soil and will be hoping for another success after what has been an excellent tournament for them. They have managed to keep three clean sheets so far this tournament and will know that a solid defensive display is key to any success they are likely to have in this match. However, it is worth noting that Colombia have not managed to shut Argentina out in any of the last three meetings, none of which Colombia managed to win. The last time they did manage a clean sheet against Argentina was in the 2019 Copa America but that remains their only win against them since November 2007. Jhon Cordoba is one of four players to have scored twice in this tournament but he is not the only player who has been key as the likes of Luis Diaz and James Rodriguez have also made strong contributions. Colombia made easy work of beating Panama in the quarter-finals but faced a tough battle at the semi-final stage as they eventually beat Uruguay to reach this final.
Final Thoughts
Argentina have won four of the last ten meetings with Colombia only winning one. The fact that five of the last ten have been drawn illustrates how close battles between these two tend to be. Argentina will be favourites to win, understandably given their history and form and the likeliness is that not many goals will be scored, so we can expect a tough and tight battle between these two.
Last updated: 12.07.24
