It was a dismal night for Colombia, whose lone championship came in the 2001 Copa America, as not much seemed to go right for Nestor Lorenzo’s squad.
There was confusion surrounding fan entry to the stadium; fans blamed the ineffective entry system, while organizers blamed supporters for attempting to enter without tickets.
The scenes were frightening, with some fans in critical condition due to heat exhaustion; however, the situation was largely resolved and the game was eventually played on after it was decided to suddenly throw open the gates without any security checks.
Jhon Corboba of Colombia had a speculative effort that went just wide of the post in the seventh minute, but neither team was able to establish any momentum early on.
In the 20th minute, Camilo Vargas of Colombia stopped Messi’s left-footed shot after Di Maria sent a low ball into the box.
Colombia had looked the more lively in the opening period and they went close in the 33rd minute when Jefferson Lerma tried his luck from 25 yards out and his low drive forced Emiliano Martinez into a diving save.
Messi tears
In the 36th minute, Messi dribbled to the byline but was stopped by a sliding challenge from Santiago Arias. The challenge was ruled fair, but Messi was injured and required medical attention.
Messi then curled a free kick in from the left flank, but Nicolas Tagliafico’s header missed the mark. Messi currently plays club football in Miami.
The fans at least got some entertainment from Colombian singer Shakira during the intermission, but it had been a dismal first half and did not get much better after.
When Argentina could not contain a James Rodriguez corner, the ball looped to Davinson Sanchez, who could not stop his header from going over the bar.
When Di Maria made one of his signature runs in from the left, forcing Vargas to make a save, the Colombian goalkeeper turned the ball wide of the post. That was finally some of the expected quality.
Then, as Messi was running in midfield, he went down without making contact with the ball. Clearly in pain, he left the game in the 66th minute to be replaced by Nicolas Gonzalez, dealing a serious blow to Argentina’s hopes.
It was too much for Messi, in what may have been his last major tournament, as he sat in tears on the bench, unable to hold back his emotions.
The Argentine fans thought they had grabbed a winner in the 75th minute when Tagliafico found Gonzalez in the box, who beat Vargas with a low drive but the effort was ruled out for offside.
Little changed in extra-time with a half-chance from Miguel Borja after a flick from Jorge Carrascal but the game was settled by a worthy winner.
Leandro Paredes won the ball in midfield for Argentina with a perfectly timed tackle, found Giovani Lo Celso whose first time pass was perfect for the on-running Martinez who confidently fired home the winner.
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