The Copa América Centenario final was a soccer match that took place on June 26, 2016 to determine the winner of the Copa América Centenario. It took place at MetLife Stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, outside of the New York City.[5]
 MetLife Stadium (pictured earlier in the tournament) hosted the final. | |||||||
| Event | Copa América Centenario | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| After extra time Chile won 4–2 on penalties | |||||||
| Date | June 26, 2016 | ||||||
| Venue | MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S. | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Claudio Bravo (Chile)[1] | ||||||
| Referee | Héber Lopes (Brazil)[2] | ||||||
| Attendance | 82,026[3] | ||||||
| Weather | 77 °F (25 °C), Clear[4] | ||||||
The match was contested by Argentina and Chile, making it a rematch of the 2015 final.[6][7] At this tournament, Argentina and Chile soon faced each other in Group D, and the victory belonged to Argentina with a score of 2–1. But in the final, like the last one, Chile ultimately won on penalty kicks after a 0–0 draw, with Chile scoring only their last 4 penalties after going first and 2 Argentines missing. However, Chile won 4-2 this time. Forward Lionel Messi announced his retirement from international soccer after the defeat, his third consecutive final defeat with Argentina, although he later reversed this decision.[8][9]
Background
editThis edition of the Copa América was the first hosted by the United States. The match marked the sixth time Argentina reached the final since the tournament was rebranded Copa América in 1975. They also finished in the top two in 22 editions of the tournament's predecessor, the Campeonato Sudamericano, in which winners were decided in a single group stage with no final match. At this time, Argentina's last international tournament win had been the Copa America in 1993. Meanwhile, this was Chile's fourth final appearance, having also finished in the top two in 1955 and 1956. Chile was the defending champions, having won their first international title in the previous year's edition as the host nation. This was Argentina's third major tournament final in a row, after the 2014 FIFA World Cup final and 2015 Copa América final, a feat only done twice before in the history of national teams, by West Germany (1972, 1974, 1976) and Spain (2008, 2010, 2012).
Route to the final
edit| Argentina | Round | Chile | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Result | Group stage | Opponent | Result |
 Chile
|
2–1 | Match 1 |  Argentina
|
1–2 |
 Panama
|
5–0 | Match 2 |  Bolivia
|
2–1 |
| Bolivia
|
3–0 | Match 3 | Panama
|
4–2 |
| Group D winner | Final standings | Group D runner-up | ||
| Opponent | Result | Knockout stage | Opponent | Result |
 Venezuela
|
4–1 | Quarter-finals |  Mexico
|
7–0 |
 United States
|
4–0 | Semi-finals |  Colombia
|
2–0 |
Closing ceremony
editPitbull and Becky G[10] performed the official song of the tournament, "Superstar", immediately following the match and trophy ceremony.[11]
Match
editAs part of FIFA's approval of rule changes based on IFAB's new regulations, a fourth substitute was allowed in extra time.[5][12] However, neither team used the fourth substitution after the match went into extra time.
Details
edit
          Argentina
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     Chile
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:[2]
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Match rules[5]
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Statistics
edit| Statistic[13] | Argentina | Chile |
|---|---|---|
| Goals scored | 0 | 0 |
| Total shots | 18 | 4 |
| Shots on target | 3 | 2 |
| Saves | 2 | 3 |
| Ball possession | 46% | 54% |
| Corner kicks | 9 | 4 |
| Fouls committed | 14 | 22 |
| Offsides | 0 | 5 |
| Yellow cards | 5 | 3 |
| Red cards | 1 | 1 |
Post-match
editChile won their second consecutive final and defended the Copa América after their win in 2015, while Argentina lost their third consecutive final (preceded by the 2014 World Cup and 2015 Copa América).[14] The match had an attendance of 82,026, the largest in the history of New Jersey.[14]
Lionel Messi announced his retirement from international soccer after the match, saying "I've done all I can. It hurts not to be a champion." Argentine newspaper La Nación speculated that other players, including Sergio Agüero, Javier Mascherano and Gonzalo Higuaín were set to retire.[15] ESPN Deportes reported that Ángel Di María, Lucas Biglia, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Éver Banega could potentially retire as well.[8][16] On August 12, 2016, Messi reverted his decision and announced his comeback to international soccer, saying "There were too many things in my head during the day of the last final and I seriously thought about letting it go, but I love my country and this jersey so much."[17][18] Three of the aforementioned players (Agüero, Di María and Messi) would eventually win their first international title at the Copa América five years later. They would also go on to win the 2022 World Cup, with Messi and Di Maria scoring in the final.
References
edit- ^ a b "Match 32 : Argentina vs Chile". Copa América Centenario. June 26, 2016. Archived from the original on June 27, 2016. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
- ^ a b c d "Referee Assignments for Copa America Centenario Matches". Copa América Centenario. June 24, 2016. Archived from the original on June 27, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
- ^ a b "Chile, campeón de la Copa América Centenario" [Chile, champion of the Copa América Centenario] (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. June 26, 2016. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
- ^ "Weather History for East Rutherford, NJ [KNJEASTR3]". Weather Underground. June 26, 2016. Archived from the original on June 27, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
- ^ a b c "2016 Copa America Centenario Regulations" (PDF). CONCACAF.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 11, 2016. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
- ^ "Argentina hammer four past outclassed USA to reach Copa América final". The Guardian. June 22, 2016. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
- ^ "Chile beat Colombia after long weather delay to set up final with Argentina". Guardian. June 23, 2016. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
- ^ a b "Lionel Messi: Argentina forward retires from international football". BBC Sport. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
- ^ "Chile beat Argentina on penalties to win Copa América – as it happened". Guardian. June 27, 2016. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
- ^ Univision, Pitbull y Becky G cierran con broche de oro la Copa América Centenario (in Spanish), retrieved June 26, 2016
Pitbull and Becky G performed the official song in the Copa América Centenario Final. - ^ "Copa America Centenario to host Official Press Conference Tomorrow June 24 in NYC ahead of historic final". CONCACAF. June 23, 2016. Archived from the original on June 26, 2016. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
- ^ "Copa America Centenario To Be First Around The World To Implement New Regulations Based On 2016/2017 Laws Of The Game". Copa América Centenario. June 3, 2016. Archived from the original on November 4, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
- ^ "Argentina vs. Chile - Football Match Statistics - June 26, 2016". ESPN FC. ESPN Inc. June 26, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
- ^ a b Keh, Andrew (June 26, 2016). "Lionel Messi and Argentina Miss Again as Chile Wins Copa América". The New York Times. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
- ^ "La noche que explotó el vestuario de la selección: Agüero, Mascherano e Higuaín podrían seguir los pasos de Messi" [The night that the dressing room of the national team exploded: Agüero, Mascherano and Higuaín could follow Messi's steps]. La Nación (in Spanish). June 27, 2016. Archived from the original on June 27, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
- ^ "Mascherano también renunció a la Selección" [Mascherano also quit the national team] (in Spanish). ESPN Deportes. June 27, 2016.
- ^ "Lionel Messi vuelve a la selección de Argentina luego de su renuncia post Copa América" [Lionel Messi comes back to the Argentina national team after his post-Copa América resignation]. Canal 13 (in Spanish). August 12, 2016. Archived from the original on November 10, 2017. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
- ^ "Lionel Messi confirmó su regreso a la selección con esta frase" [Lionel Messi confirmed his comeback to the national team with this quote]. El Comercio (in Spanish). August 12, 2016. Retrieved November 10, 2017.