Copa America, as it happened: Argentina sees off Chile despite Messi red card to finish third

Two-time World Cup winner Argentina takes on the side which beat it in the last two finals of the Copa America Chile in this year's Bronze medal game in Sao Paulo.

Hello and welcome to Sportstar's live blog of the Copa America 2019. This is Dominic Richard and I will be taking you through our live coverage. The action takes place at the Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo, where Argentina takes on Chile in the third place play-off aka bronze medal match of the 2019 Copa America. These two teams were part of the last two Copa America finals in 2015 and 2016, with Chile getting the better of Argentina both times. So La Albiceleste will be eager to get one over La Roja. Let's get going!

 

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That is it for today. See you tomorrow when host Brazil takes on Peru in the 2019 Copa America final.

Sergio Aguero and Paulo Dybala secure a third-place finish for Argentina as it holds on to beat the defending champion in a rematch of the 2015 and 2016 finals, despite Lionel Messi being sent off in the first half. Gary Medel also saw red for his role in the altercation, and Chile threatened to claw its way back when Arturo Vidal slotted home a controversial penalty at the hour mark, but its comeback falls short on an entertaining night in Sao Paulo.

90 + 7' AND IT IS FULL-TIME!!! ARGENTINA 2 - 1 CHILE. LA ALBICELESTE WIN THE BRONZE MEDAL.

90 + 5' There's been no flow to this match over the last 15 minutes with all the stoppages. It's now or never for Chile, but it is struggling to get the ball, or bodies, forward. This might be a case of them simply having nothing left in the tank.

90 + 3' The foul by Nicolas Tagliafico gets him a yellow card. Arturo Vidal has an effort from the edge of the area, but he skies the ball over the top

90 + 2' The referee isn't interested in penalty appeals from the Chile players as they shout for handball. As everyone gets up on the Chile bench, the referee gets word in his headset that they might want to check with VAR on that incident, but the conversation is brief as play resumes a few seconds later. NO PENALTY!

90' A final change of this match from Argentina sees it bring on Funes Mori for some defensive insurance, as he takes the place of Lo Celso. There will be a minimum of six minutes added on at the end of this match.

89' A dangerous looking corner from Di Maria, himself, is cleared to safety by the La Roja defence. Another cross into the box, but Gabriel Arias comes off his line to gather the ball.

88' Angel Di Maria goes on an induvidual run, but he fails to create a chance as an opposition player blocks him. Argentina gets a corner. Chile will face another attacking threat.

87' Pulgar whips in a cross as the red shirts pack the Argentina penalty area, but La Albiceleste are first to it before Pulgar fouls De Paul in an attempt to win it back, and the pressure is relieved. La Roja are panicking here.

85' Nicolas Otamendi makes a rough challenge and the referee blows his whistle for a foul. Chile wins a free kick. It's a good position for a direct shot.

FACT Vidal's penalty was just Chile's second goal in its last 10 Copa America matches against Argentina (including today).

 

83' SUBSTITUTION! Chile makes its final change which is an attacking change as Castillo, a forward, comes on to take the place of Aranguiz, a midfielder.

81'SUBSTITUTION! A second Argentina change sees Suarez coming on in place of the man who opened the scoring today Sergio 'Kun' Aguero.

80' Sergio Aguero receives a precise pass inside the box and takes a shot that flies just wide of the right post.

78' VITAL SAVE! How important was that from Arias?! Argentina pushes forward in numbers as Chile is caught out in defence. Di Maria bursts down the left courtesy of a delicious individual run and rolls a pass across the box for Aguero, but his attempted chip is saved exellently by Arias who did well to stay tall and make the save with his face!

76' Argentina back on the front foot, patiently working the ball around the final third. You get the sense here that it just might find a third to put this to bed, or at least make for a more comfortable finish.

Argentina skipper Lionel Messi had blasted the quality of refereeing in his side's semifinal loss against host Brazil. He was red carded today against Chile under dubious circumstances. Did he deserve to be sent-off?

READ| It was 'bulls***' – Messi blasts refereeing after Argentina's Copa America loss

73' The ball is cleared after Di Maria attempted to dribble past an opposing player. Another corner for La Albiceleste.

72' The Argentine goalkeeper pulls off a decent save to deny Vargas, whose low and curling effort is only aimed at the middle of the goal.

69' Leandro Paredes crosses the ball in from the corner but it's intercepted by a Chile player. Corner for Argentina. Paredes, himself,  takes the resulting corner, but fails to find the head of any of his teammates, allowing the La Roja defence to clear the ball.

67' SUBSTITUTION! Argentina's first change of the match. Goal-scorer Paulo Dybala is replaced by Angel di Maria.

FACT There have not been four goals scored in a match between these two sides since a 4-1 Argentina victory in World Cup qualifyng in 2011. Their last six meetings have produced just 10 goals.

 

65' Leandro Paredes receives a yellow card for a heavy challenge.

63' Chile growing in confidence! It gets back on the front foot straight away, and Fernandes calls Armani into action with a sharp turn and shot from the edge of the penalty area. This time it's a comfortable save for the Argentina keeper.

61' Fernandes latches on to an accurate pass on the edge of the box and unleashes a strong shot towards goal, but his effort is denied by the keeper.

59' GAME ON IN SAO PAULO! 2-1! Arturo Vidal hammers that penalty straight down the middle, with Armani diving to his left, as he cuts the deficit in half! Could the comeback be on here?!

57' PENALTY TO CHILE! The contact looked to come inches outside the penalty area, but the referee has awarded Chile a spot kick! Argentina is livid with the decision, and Pezzella is booked for dissent.

55' An incident a couple of minutes ago is now being looked at by the referee as Lo Celso may have fouled Aranguiz inside the penalty area. The replay shows it was clearly a foul, but the contact looked to have come just inches outside the box.

53' Paredes is livid with the referee after Isla barges through his back at the byline as he was shielding a ball and ushering it out of play. It wasn't malicious by Isla, but it certainly could have been avoided.

FACT Excluding penalties, Argentina remains unbeaten against Chile in Copa America tournaments (W20 D7); this is the most one side has faced another without losing in Copa America history.

 

52' Nicolas Otamendi has fallen to the ground after being tackled and is receiving treatment now. He comes back onto the pitch as the injury is not serious.

50' SUBSTITUTION! Chile manager Reinaldo Rueda is forced to make a change. Gonzalo Jara is unable to continue due to injury, Guillermo Maripan replaces him.

49' Dybala gets to a rebound and his attempt heads towards the left side of the goal, but Gabriel Arias keeps it out with a good save.

47' Gonzalo Jara is down writhing in pain and he can now receive medical treatment after the referee stops play and signals for the physio to come onto the pitch.

46' SECOND HALF IS UNDERWAY!!

Chile has been incredibly frustrated through the first half and it has done its best to take it out on Argentina. It's made for an increasingly physical match that has only got worse as the half wore on, leaving the referee with the important responsibility of finding a way to settle things down over the final 45 minutes.

Argentina is in control through a wildly entertaining opening 45 minutes in Sao Paulo. Sergio Aguero put it ahead early, before Paulo Dybala doubled their lead with his first goal of the tournament shortly after Chile captain Alexis Sanchez was forced off with an injury, and La Roja's frustrations culminated in a hasty coming together between Gary Medel and Lionel Messi that saw both players sent off for their role in the altercation.

45 + 4' AND ITS HALF-TIME!!! ARGENTINA 2 - 0 CHILE.

45 + 3' Nicolas Tagliafico does well to dispossess the attacker with a slide tackle, but the referee blows his whistle for a foul. La Roja has a free kick from a close distance.

FACT Lionel Messi has seen red for just the second time with Argentina, his first coming in a friendly against Hungary in his international debut in August 2005.

 

45' M.D. de Vivar shows a yellow card to Erick Pulgar for a rough tackle.

42' Charles Aranguiz sends a teasing cross into the area, but Franco Armani intercepts the ball. There will be a minimum of 3 minutes of stoppage time in the first half.

39' It takes the referee a while to calm things down, and once he does he can check with VAR. He goes over to have a look, and based on the replays and the initial look, the reds stay.

37' BOTH SIDES DOWN TO 10 MEN! Messi chases down a Dybala throughball that runs out of play, before engaging in a shoving match with Medel. Messi gives him a little nudge in the back and Medel took exception, turning and getting right in his face as both players are shown a straight red! RED CARD FOR MESSI AND MEDEL.

36' The tempo has dropped off significantly. The responsibility has fallen on Chile with it chasing this deficit, but it can't muster up much of anything right now. It has been more concerned with imposing themselves physically than anything else.

34' It's all been quite comfortable for Argentina, especially at the back. It has been able to pass is way out of defence far too easily, with Chile just lacking any real intensity or pace with their pressing. La Roja is looking very lethargic.

32' GREAT CHANCE! That would have been some goal from Argentina, as it nearly makes it 3-0! Messi clips a delightful ball over the top for Dybala, who meets it with an acrobatic attempt from eight yards, but he volleys just wide!

30' There's been no flow to Chile's game whatsoever thus far, with Argentina firmly in control. La Albiceleste has been clinical in possession and they've had the quality in the attacking half that La Roja has sorely lacked. That's been the difference thus far.

FACT Chile has failed to score in each of its last three games in the tournament (D1 L2). It is its longest goalless run in a single Copa America since 1922 (also three).

 

28' Junior Fernandes races towards goal but the defender gets back well to make a challenge. M.D. de Vivar blows his whistle, Chile is awarded a corner kick.

26'Tempers boiling over! Medel cynically fouls Messi at the halfway line and a few Argentina players take exception to the challenge. Vidal gets involved as he comes to his team-mate's defence, which prompts a big coming together and a lot of pushing and shoving. In the end Vidal is shown a yellow for dissent, while Medel somehow escapes a booking again!

24' Good movement by Charles Aranguiz, but he can't find any of his teammates as the cross is poor. The ball is out of play. Argentina will have a throw-in.

FACT Argentina and Chile both lost on the only previous occasion they played in a Copa America third place play-off. Argentina lost 2-1 to Colombia in 1987, while Chile fell 2-1 against Mexico in 1999.

 

22' PAULO DYBALA MAKES IT 2-0!!! Argentina cruising in Sao Paulo as Dybala does really well to take a pass from Lo Celso and spring himself behind the defence with a terrific first touch, before producing a wonderfully cool finish as he chips Arias at the near post to double its lead!

20' SMART SAVE! Argentina attacks in numbers, with De Paul finding Messi in space in the centre, but Jara is able to get a deflection on the effort to take the sting out of it, as Arias dives to his right to make the save!

17' Beausejour picks up the first yellow card of the match for lightly tugging the arm of Aguero from behind, to try and slow the striker as he darted through midfield. Definitely a bit of a soft foul, and Medel is lucky not to be booked for dissent as he got right in the face of the referee and wouldn't leave him alone as he followed him around with a look of agression on his face.

15' SUBSTITUTION! Chile a goal down, and now a man down as Sanchez picks up an injury to his leg and requires a bit of treatment before slowly making his way off and throwing his captain's  armband to the ground in disgust. Could that be the end of his international career, even? Fernandes is brought on to take the place of the injured Sanchez.

12' AND ITS A GOAL!!!! Sergio Aguero scores for Argentina. Chile caught napping. Brilliance from skipper Messi who is fouled at the halfway line, and takes the resulting free-kick quickly as La Roja is pleading its case, carving the opposition apart with a delicious throughball to send in Aguero, who rounds the keeper and rolls La Albiceleste into the lead.

10' The referee blows his whistle after Leandro Paredes kicks an opponent's leg. Free-kick for Chile.

FACT Argentina and Chile are the only two teams to have played the 18 possible games during each of the last three Copa America tournaments (they had reached the final in the previous two editions) – at least two more games than any other side (16, Peru).

 

8' That was close by Sergio Aguero. He receives a pass on the edge of the box and shoots, but the ball goes inches wide of the left post. A sigh of relief for La Roja.

7' A ball over the top for Aguero sees Argentina into the final third for the first time. The striker lays it off for Messi, who is instantly swarmed before winning a free-kick about 30 yards out. The resulting set piece is played short, with Aguero eventually missing the target at the near post with a strike from distance.

5' Alexis Sanchez sends a long ball forward to Eduardo Vargas, but he put too much power and the chance is gone. The ball is off of the pitch and it's a goal kick for La Albiceleste.

3' Quite the sloppy start to this match from both sides, with a number of stray passes high up the pitch seeing possession exchanging hands often. Play then comes to a halt as De Paul stays down following a coming together at the halfway line, before popping up to his feet 30 seconds later looking no worse for wear.

1' KICK OFF! Here we go.

- The teams are out on the field for the national anthems.

Action will be underway soon.

Today's referee is M.D. de Vivar of Paraguay. He was the referee when Chile beat Japan 4-0 in a Group C game.

READ| Copa America preview: Argentina vs Chile

-   The Arena Corinthians, with a capacity of around 50,000, hosted Argentina's semifinal win over Netherlands at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. It also hosted Chile's quarterfinal win over Colombia in this year's Copa America. Both the games ended in a penalty shoot-out.

-   Argentina qualified to the knockout stage as Group B runner-up and Chile qualified by finishing second in Group C.

-   Argentina has won 59 of its 88 meetings against Chile in all competitions (D23 L6).

-   Argentina lost on the only previous occasion it played in a third-place play-off in a Copa America tournament, beaten 2-1 by Colombia in 1987.

-   This will be the first third-place play-off between two teams that have faced each other before in a Copa America final.

-   Chile and Argentina lost their semifinal games against Peru and Brazil, respectively, despite having attempted 10 shots more than their opponents (Chile 19-9 Peru; Argentina 14-4 Brazil).

-   Chile's Charles Aranguiz has created the most chances (17) in the 2019 Copa America; at least four more than any other player.

-   Chile was the two-time defending Copa America champion heading into this year's tournament. The team's best finish at the FIFA World Cup came in 1962, when it finished third.

-    Argentina has won two FIFA World Cups (1978, 1986), two Olympic gold medals (2004, 2008) and a mammoth 14 Copa America titles (second most).

 

Team news- ARGENTINA XI (4-3-3): Franco Armani; Juan Foyth, German Pezzella, Nicolas Otamendi, Nicolas Tagliafico; Rodrigo de Paul, Leandro Paredes, Giovani Lo Celso; Lionel Messi, Paulo Dybala, Sergio Aguero. SUBS: Guido Pizarro, Milton Casco, Angel Di Maria, Renzo Saravia, Matias Suarez, Juan Musso, Ramiro Funes Mori, Guido Rodriguez, Roberto Pereyra, Agustin Marchesin. CHILE XI (3-5-2): Gabriel Arias; Paulo Diaz, Gary Medel, Gonzalo Jara; Mauricio Isla, Charles Aranguiz, Erick Pulgar, Arturo Vidal, Jean Beausejour; Alexis Sanchez, Eduardo Vargas. SUBS: Jose Pedro Fuenzalida, Junior Fernandes, Oscar Opazo, Brayan Cortes, Igor Lichnovsky, Diego Valdes, Pablo Hernandez, Esteban Pavez, Angelo Sagal, Guillermo Maripan, Yerko Urra, Nicolas Castillo.

 

Welcome back to the LIVE coverage of the Argentina vs Chile third place play-off fixture.