EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Argentina booked a spot in the Copa America quarterfinals with a group stage game to spare on Tuesday, scoring in the dying minutes of their 1-0 win over Chile at MetLife Stadium courtesy of Lautaro Martinez.
Lionel Messi's side was slow to begin against a compact Chile defense but began to break them down about 20 minutes into the match and did not stop taking shot after shot at the opposition goal. Julian Alvarez and Nicolas Gonzalez were amongst those who took meaningful shots in the first half but 41-year-old goalkeeper Claudio Bravo was up for the task. Messi also had an impressive first-half shot from distance but the ball hit the post before going out.
The pace of the game did not change much in the second half with Messi and Alexis Mac Allister taking several meaningful shots. Chile posted their first shot of the game in the 70th minute through Rodrigo Echeverria and forced Emiliano Martinez into several saves down the stretch. Their signs of life, though, did not damage Argentina's efforts to press for a goal and the breakthrough came with minutes to spare.
Lautaro Martinez scored in the 88th minute off a corner that created a mess in the penalty area. Bravo was able to make a save but the ball fell to the substitute, who scored his second goal of the tournament and maintained strong form after winning the Golden Boot in Serie A last season.
Argentina sit atop Group A with six points, three points ahead of second-place Canada with three points. Chile sink to last place with one point, tied on points with third place Peru.
The reigning champions finish out the group stage on Saturday against Peru, though there is some question as to whether Messi will be available for the match, Messi appeared to be dealing with a nagging injury, saying after the match, "I felt some discomfort in my right hamstring at the beginning of the game. It was tight. It wasn't as loose as it should've been. But I was able to finish the game. We'll see how it goes."
22 shots later, Argentina finally have the goal they were searching for and the three points that go along with it. They were pretty wasteful tonight but they might not care about it right now. It was another big game for Lautaro Martinez, who helps his team book a spot in the last eight.
88' At long last, Argentina have their goal. Argentina pounce on the corner, with a deflected shot eventually landing at Lautaro Martinez's feet and the Serie A golden boot winner doesn't miss from close range. The goal survives a lenghty VAR check, too.
The official attendance tonight is 81,0006, nearly a sellout crowd at the 82,500 capacity MetLife Stadium.
73' This game has been all Argentina but Chile show signs of life and Echeverria forces Martinez into another save. It's maybe the best chance for either side in the second half, but this game's still goalless.
70' At long last, Chile have their first shot of the goal through a counterattack, with Isla doing a lot of the work to create the chance before Echeverria takes the shot. Emi Martinez is able to make the save, but Argentina re trying to kill this game -- Di Maria and Lautaro Martinez come on for Alvarez and Gonzalez.
65' And now it's Chile's turn to make a change as Gareca takes Sanchez off for Bolados.
64' Scaloni goes to the bench and brings on Lo Celso for Fernandez with the hopes of mixing things up in attack as Argentina search for their first goal.
63' Argentina are up to 17 shots tonight but the ball just refuses to land in the back of the enet. This time it's Gonzalez with the shot, who forces another save out of Bravo before the ball hits the crossbar and goes out. Argentina are now up to 1.45 expected goals, underperforming in that stat just like they did against Canada, when they scored twice but posted three expected goals.
55' Mac Allister looks as close as anyone has all night to scoring Argentina's opener but can't get a perfect shot off. Argentina are now up to 15 shots, just of four of which are on target but they're still doing better than Chile, who have yet to take their first shot of the game.
54' The long-awaited first yellow card of the game goes to Chile's Suazo for a foul with his studs up. A reminder of the yellow card accumulation rules at the Copa America -- two yellows in the group stage will get you a one-match ban, but the bookings are wiped before the knockouts.
49' Argentina's first big chance of the first half comes courtesy of Molina, who recieves the ball from Messi and takes an impactful shot that forces a save out of Bravo. The ball goes out for a corner and Argentina plead for a penalty for a handball on Isla and though the ball does appear to touch his hand, the referee deems he didn't extend his body before that happened and opts not to award the spotkick.
No changes for either side to start the second half.
Chile's compact defense eventually gave way for a flurry of shots from Argentina, but the reigning champions put just three of their 13 shots on target and mustered just 0.7 expected goals for their troubles. This has also been a fairly chippy match with nine fouls between the two teams, on trend for Chile after they combined with Peru for 37 fouls in their last match. That said, there are no goals and no yellow cards at the break
44' Argentina continue to rack up the shots but have maybe been a little wasteful, putting just three of their 11 shots on target. The latest chance comes courtesy of Alvarez, who has a great opportunity to score but instead sends the ball flying over the net.
36' It hasn't been a terribly active day for Messi but he turns it on and manages a moment of brilliance, taking an impressive strike from distance that hits the post before heading out for a goal kick.
28' After settling a holding pattern in which they dominated but struggled to get chances off, Argentina are now finding ways to get shots, the latest coming form Gonzalez. It was a promising opportunity but Bravo was up for the task, making his third save of the day already. It's already been an impressive Copa America for the 41-year-old Chile goalkeeper, who made four stops against Peru on Friday.
25' Messi leaves the field briefly to treat a little issue after a hard challenge, a period in time in which Argentina get close to scoring again courtesy of De Paul. The chance doesn't come off, though, and Messi returns. We'll see if his fitness becomes an issue today or if it's just par for the course with the 37-year-old superstar.
20' Fernandez and Gonzlaez combine on the left side of the field before the latter sends the ball to Alvarez, who makes a decent run into the box. The chance is promising but the shot is imperfect and Bravo is able to make hsi first save of the game.
12' The first shot of the game goes Argentina's way, but there's not much to write home about. Gonzalez combines with De Paul, who takes a shot from distance but his shot is eventually blocked before it poses a big threat.
7' Experiencing a pro-Argentina crowd is a multi-sensory experience -- in addition to seeing and hearing them, you can literally feel their presence from the press box. When they get excited, you can feel the vibrations in the press box.
4' Argentina have, unsurprisingly, had most of the ball but the first vaguely threatening chance is Chile's, courtesy of Davila. He received some treatement after that shot but is back in action after a stop in play. Still no shots to speak of, but it is early.
Argentina kick things off in the center circle and the latest game in the Copa America has officially begun.
The pitches have been a hot topic of conversation at this Copa America, with several teams complaining about the surfaces they have played on as a handful of NFL stadiums haphazardly swap out their artificial surfaces for natural grass that clearly hasn't settled in well. Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni complained about the hasty organization ass it pertains to the pitches after Thursday's win over Canada, but opted out of commenting on the pitch in his pre-game comments on Monday.
The sold-out crowd is filling in nicely with about a half-hour to go until kickoff, and if the visual of fans clad in white and light blue was not enough, the pro-Argentina crowd is making their presence heard, even to those inside the walled-in press box. The fans audibly cheered as Messi led Argentina out onto the pitch for warmups, did the same when their lineup was announced -- and obviously jeered the Chile starters were named by the in-stadium announcer. It comes as no surprise that Messi got the loudest cheers of the group.
Argentina head into this matchup atop Group A, but every team is still alive after Canada's 1-0 win over a 10-man Peru earlier today. Here's a look at the table ahead of kickoff.
Sanchez starts again for Chile as the 2015 and 2016 champions aim for their first goal and win of the competition. Here's a look at their lineup.
Chile starting XI: Bravo, Isla, Lichnovsky, Diaz, Suazo, Pulgar, Echeverria, Davila, Sanchez, Osorio, Vargas
Substitutes: Arias, Cortes, Maripan, Galdames, Nunez, Zavala, Pavez, Bolados, Guerrero, Catalan, Brereton Diaz, Perez, Kuscevic, Fernandez
No surprises here -- the Argentina captain is back in the lineup for a game that could clinch a berth in the quarterfinals with a game to spare. Here's a look at Argentina's starters for today's match.
Argentina starting XI: E. Martinez, Molina, Lisandro Martinez, Romero, Tagliafico, Gonzalez, De Paul, Fernandez, Mac Allister, Messi, Alvarez
Substitutes: Armani, Rulli, Lucas Martinez, Montiel, Paredes, Pezzella, Acuna, Di Maria, Palacios, Lo Celso, Garnacho, Rodriguez, Otamendi, Carboni, Lautaro Martinez
Eight years ago, Messi stood at MetLife Stadium after another defeat in the Copa America final and declared, "For me, the national team is over. I've done all that I can." His international retirement was thankfully shortlived and he arrives back in New Jersey with a very different outlook on his national team career after winning the 2021 Copa America and the 2022 World Cup. As a result, manager Lionel Scaloni argued that the 2016 result was irrelevant as they prepared for today's game.
Argentina are back in action at the Copa America, this time to face Chile. The reigning champions can book a spot in the quarterfinals with a win that would both bolster their argument as the favorites to win it all, as well as turn the page on a less-than-ideal chapter in the national team's recent history. Argentina are back at MetLife Stadium, where they lost to Chile in the Copa America final eight years ago and Lionel Messi announced his brief international retirement.
Things will likely be a lot different today considering Argentina's recent success, multigenerational talent and the confidence that comes with it. Stick around as we build up to the match and then for updates post-kickoff.
