Chile Lifts Copa America 2016

Last year it was 4-1 and this time it was 4-2 and the agonizing wait for Argentina to win a major trophy of 23 years is now set to go on for another two years...

- Himanshu Dhingra

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Copa America and COMNEBOL (South American Football Federation), the 45th edition of the tournament was held a year after the previous event and for the first time it was held outside of South America with United States of America being its destination.

Not only was the host country outside of South America, the format of the tournament was also slightly different as well. Instead of the usual 12 teams there were 16 teams, with Jamaica, Haiti, Costa Rica and Panama invited as guests to form four groups of four teams.

As you would expect when some of the best players in the world get together, the sparks are going to fly, however even before the tournament began there were some talking points that got the tongues wagging. Brazil, once the powerhouse of the world football came into the tournament with a bit of an issue. Some of the best players for Selecao were either not available or were not called up by the head coach Dunga, who has since been sacked. The absence of inspirational player Neymar was the one that was particularly debilitating with the team only able to score one goal against Ecuador and none against Peru. The absence of stalwarts like Thiago Silva, David Luiz and Marcelo was also felt as Brazil went out in the very first stage. 

For Argentina, Captain Lionel Messi arrived late after his tax trial in Spain and in his first cameo appearance against Panama he scored a hat trick in a 5-0 win for his side.

THE FINAL