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The Copa América champion continued to deepen the crisis of the Euro monarchs, who had already failed to qualify for the Qatar World Cup, and this time they gave in at Wembley Stadium, while Lautaro Martínez and Lionel Messi promoted the Albiceleste.
An unusual football experience, the rivalry between the Copa América and Euro champions ended with a new disappointment for Italy and a vital boost for Argentina ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. A 3-0 thrashing in the Finalissima, played at the Wembley Stadium, in London, extended the undefeated streak of Lionel Scaloni’s men to 32 games and laid bare the Azzurra’s crisis.
Although not official, the Finalissima was an important barometer fundamentally for Argentina, which is already in the preparation phase for its participation in the World Cup.
Those led by Lionel Scaloni have 22 wins and 10 draws since their defeat in the 2019 Copa América semifinal, the last time they lost. The streak did not include European rivals, so the victory against Italy also settles that pending task.
A great that says goodbye and a giant that wakes up
The game showed that Italy gave him little interest, despite the fact that it represented the farewell of a legendary transalpine defender, central Giorgio Chiellini, who leaves the national team after also saying goodbye to Juventus, after a prolific career that took him to win the scudetto (the Serie A champion title) nine times and the Italian Cup five times, in addition to playing 117 games for his national team.
Chiellini was honored before the match, and was replaced at half-time by Manuel Lazzari. Before the farewell duel, he had left the captain’s band to his former Juve teammate Leonardo Bonucci. Now he is preparing to close his career playing in the MLS in the United States.
But while Chiellini said goodbye, Messi said present, back in great shape with his national team. He was not only declared the man of the match, but he was decisive in two of the three goals of the match.
He provided the assist for Lautaro Martínez at 28 minutes and Paulo Dybala’s at 93 resulted from the rebound of his shot. Ángel Di María, a player without a team after PSG decided not to offer him a renewal, scored the other goal at 46.
An experience with few precedents
It is the third time that a match with these characteristics has been played, organized by the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) and the European Union of Associated Football (UEFA), in the style of the Intercontinental Cup, which faced the champions of the Libertadores and the Champions League between 1960 and 2004.
The first edition delivered the Artemio Franchi Cup, and faced France and Uruguay in the Parc des Princes in Paris, with a 2-0 victory for the Gauls.
In 1993, Argentina, champion of South America in 1991, and Denmark, surprising winner of the Euro in 1992, collided in Mar del Plata. The hosts dominated in the penalty shootout after finishing 1-1 in regular time. That was the last title won by the legendary Diego Armando Maradona with his team.
A new format edition had been planned for 2018, which would include the runners-up from both tournaments and switch to a home run format, with Milan, Italy, as the venue. The FIFA crisis, which led to legal proceedings for several of the top football leaders, including the current presidents of Conmebol and UEFA (Nicolás Leoz and Michel Platini), put an end to this plan.
with EFE
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