This is Sportstar's live coverage of the Copa America game between Argentina and Chile in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday.
That's it for today. Thanks for tuning in!
MATCH REPORT |
Lionel Messi gave Argentina the lead in the first half. However, Eduardo Vargas equalised with a header for Chile after Arturo Vidal's penalty was saved by Emiliano Martinez. The score stayed 1-1 for the rest of the encounter.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS:
AND IT'S FULL-TIME! FINAL SCORE: ARGENTINA 1 - 1 CHILE!!!
90' Seven minutes of stoppage time has been added on at the end of the second half! Lionel Messi has a good chance to equalise for Argentina but Chile shot-stopper Bravo pulls of a brilliant save to deny him.
87' Chile is just stopping Argentina attacks with tactical fouls now. Tomas Alarcon brings down Sergio Aguero from behind and concedes a set-piece. A few more substitutions take place for either side in the middle.
84' FREE-KICK FOR ARGENTINA! Another Lionel Messi set-piece and another easy clearance from Chile. Lasarte's side has dominated the overall possession in the game but Scaloni's team has the advantage in the passing and attacking stats today.
81' SUBSTITUTION BY ARGENTINA! A couple of changes here. Sergio Aguero and Joaquin Correa come in for Lautaro Martinez and Nicolas Gonzalez, respectively, on the field.
78' CHANCE FOR ARGENTINA! Nicolas Gonzalez receives a brilliant cross from the right flank. But his header sails over the crossbar. The Argentine forwards are missing chance after chance.
75' CHILE CHANGES! Head coach Martin Lasarte replaces the injured goal-scorer Eduardo Vargas with Cesar Pinares on the field. Meanwhile, Carlos Palacios makes way for Ben Brereton in the middle.
72' FREE-KICK FOR ARGENTINA! Arturo Vidal concedes this one and Lionel Messi will take it as usual. The Chile wall stands tall to avert the danger. The referee blows his whistle after an Argentine player commits a foul.
69' SHOT! Lionel Messi dribbles past a couple of Chile defenders and sets himself up to take a shot. However, his effort is blocked by an opposition player. Argentina has missed several chances in the second half.
66' ARGENTINA SUBSTITUTIONS! Manager Lionel Scaloni decides to bring on Angel Di Maria and Exequiel Palacios to replace Giovani Lo Celso and Leandro Paredes on the field.
63' YELLOW CARD! Argentina's Lautaro Martinez is booked by the referee for a terrible challenge on an opposition player. He was getting away with it for a long time. But finally he's booked.
60' CORNER! Argentina skipper Lionel Messi will take this one as well. His swinging cross into the middle is cleared away by the Chile defence. The rebound falls to Rodrigo De Paul, who doesn't find the target.
57' GOAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!!!!! EDUARDO VARGAS SCORESSSSS!!! CHILE 1 - 1 ARGENTINA!!!!! Arturo Vidal's spot-kick was saved by Argentina keeper Emi Martinez. But the ball hit the post and came back into play. Vargas got to it first and headed the ball into goal.
54' PENALTY FOR CHILE! After a long VAR check, the referee finally awards the trailing side a spot-kick. Nicolas Tagliafico fouled Vidal inside the box. The referee had to go to the monitor to confirm the decision.
51' OFFSIDE! Argentina forward Lautaro Martinez is a little too eager to get to a pass from Leandro Paredes. The linesman raises his flag and the referee awards a set-piece to Chile, which is pushing hard for the equaliser.
48' EARLY CHANCE FOR CHILE! Eugenio Mena tries to find his teammate Eduardo Vargas up front with a long ball from the left wing. But the Argentina defence is alert and the danger is averted.
THE SECOND HALF IS UNDERWAY!
Forty-five minutes to go. Stay tuned!
AND IT'S HALF-TIME! SCORE: ARGENTINA 1 - 0 CHILE!!!
45' Three minutes of stoppage time has been added on at the end of the first half! Lautaro Martinez brings down Chile defender Gary Medel from behind. The referee doesn't give the Argentina forward a card.
42' VAR CHECK! There's a handball from one of the Chile players inside their own box. The referee reviews it to see if it was intentional. After a long check, there's no penalty given as the play continues.
39' SHOT! Lautaro Martinez rushes forward with the ball from midfield. He dribbles past an opposition player and takes a powerful shot. But the ball goes way off the target. Martinez has missed a few chances here.
36' COUPLE OF YELLOW CARDS FOR CHILE! Arturo Vidal and Erick Pulgar go into the referee's book for silly challenges on Argentina players. Messi's Argentine side has picked up its pace and started dominating now.
33' GOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!!!!! LIONEL MESSI SCORES!!! ARGENTINA 1 - 0 CHILE!!!!! This was a free-kick from just outside the box. Lionel Messi curled the ball to the top right corner as Chile goalkeeper Bravo had no chance of saving it despite coming up with a full-stretch dive.
30' BOOKING! A second yellow card of the game. This one goes to Argentina's Lucas Martinez Quarta who took down Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal with a mistimed tackle. The free-kick is from close to the mid-line.
27' CHANCE FOR CHILE! This was a brilliant counter-attack and Jean Meneses had the ball close to the box. He moved to the centre and took a shot from the edge of the box. But it was way off target.
24' YELLOW CARD AND SET-PIECE! This is the first booking of the game and it goes to Chile's Mauricio Isla who came up with a silly challenge. However, Lionel Messi's free-kick isn't effective as Chile regains possession.
21' OFFSIDE! Chile's Jean Meneses was a little too eager to get to a pass from Arturo Vidal. The linesman immediately raised the flag and the referee awarded a free-kick to Argentina.
18' GOOD SAVE! Argentina forward Nicolas Gonzalez collected the ball coming from the left flank. He looked up and drilled a low shot towards the middle of the goal, but Claudio Bravo reacted well to deny him.
15' CORNER FOR CHILE! Aranguiz is on set-piece duty now. He sends a swinging cross into the box. But the Argentina defence clears the ball away from danger. The shot from the rebound is saved by Emi Martinez.
12' SHOT! Another good Argentina move up front. Lautaro Martinez sneaks past a Chile defender and receives a through-ball. He takes a brilliant first touch but his effort goes well over the crossbar.
9' CHANCE FOR ARGENTINA! Lionel Messi receives a wonderful pass from midfield. He turns and takes a decent shot. However, the ball misses the target by a whisker. The Chile defence was sleeping there.
6' Chile is pressing high early on and the team is passing really well too. On the contrary, Argentina is struggling a bit here and it needs to have a spell of possession soon to gain some confidence.
3' FREE-KICK FOR CHILE! Argentina's Leandro Paredes conceded this one. The set-piece is from a decent position. However, the Argentine defence clears away the cross into the box pretty easily.
2:30 AM IST: AND IT'S KICKOFF!
2:00 AM IST: Nearly at the age of 34, Lionel Messi may just have two more shots at hitting an elusive target: winning a first title with Argentina.
Next year's World Cup in Qatar could be his last, while the Copa America that starts from Sunday in Brazil might be his best chance of finally lifting an international trophy.
1:30 AM IST: The team lineups are out!
ARGENTINA XI: E Martinez (G), G Montiel, L Martinez Quarta, N Otamendi, N Tagliafico, R De Paul, L Paredes, G Lo Celso, L Messi (C), L Martinez, N Gonzalez.
COACH: L Scaloni.
CHILE XI: C Bravo (G)(C), M Isla, Gary Medel, G Maripan, E Mena, A Vidal, E Pulgar, C Aranguiz, J Meneses, C Palacios, E Vargas.
COACH: M Lasarte.
1:15 AM IST: One of Peru's fitness coaches for Copa America has COVID-19, the country's football federation said on Monday.
Nestor Bonillo joins several Venezuelans, Bolivians and Colombians who tested positive before the tournament in Brazil.
1:00 AM IST: Striker Alexis Sanchez did not travel to Brazil with the rest of the Chile squad and will miss at least the group stage of Copa America due to a calf injury.
Chile's national team said in a statement on Saturday that 32-year-old Sanchez felt muscular soreness in a calf after a training session. It did not give more details.
MATCH PREVIEW:
Lionel Messi has won it all with Barcelona in a decorated career. Winning a title with Argentina remains one of his biggest ambitions.
The 33-year-old Messi might have one of his final chances at Copa America.
Argentina's campaign will begin on Monday against Chile at the Nilton Santos stadium in Rio de Janeiro. Copa America opened on Sunday in emergency mode in Brazil, where the tournament was shifted after Colombia and Argentina were dropped as co-hosts.
“I am always available to my national team. My biggest dream is to win a title with this shirt,” Messi told a news conference in Rio. “I was very close many times. It didn't happen, but I will keep trying. I will always fight for this dream.”
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Messi said most of the group had played together for a while and “the way this Argentina plays is very clear.”
“That's why it is is time that we win this Copa," he said. "We know it will be a special one, different because of all that the world is going through.”
The Argentina captain also said he approves Rodrigo de Paul as a teammate who gives him protection and also helps in creating attack.
“Little by little we got to know each other and I feel well playing with him,” Messi said.
In his 15 years playing for Argentina, Messi lost the 2014 World Cup final, plus two editions of Copa America in 2015 and 2016. Argentina hasn't won any major tournament since the 1993 South American championship.
That adds significance to every major event.
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There's more risk than usual with this edition of the Copa America. More than 485,000 people died in Brazil because of the virus, and 11 players have tested positive upon arrival for the tournament — eight from Venezuela and three from Bolivia.
“It is a risk for all of us,” Messi said. “We are worried, we try to take care, do all that (we're) told.
"We will play other teams, there's also the risk of contagion. We will do everything we can for that not to happen, but many times it doesn't depend on us.”
Argentina is in group A with Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay. The four best teams in each group advance to the knockout stage. The final will be on July 10 at the historic Maracana stadium in Rio.
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