Clash of 2 soccer superstars, Lionel Messi & James Rodriguez, was won by Rodrigues. (Image via: Barca Blaugranes)

First in 20 years, Columbia 2-0 Argentina

SALVADOR - A frequent problem which soccer superstars face currently is that they may shine at their team, but when it comes to national team, their brilliance seems to be overshadowed. Although this curse seems to be broken by Cristiano Ronaldo in Euro 2016, the same cannot be said to his Argentine rival, Lionel Messi.

At the opening game for Argentina against Columbia today at Itaipava Fonte Nova Arena, instead of making breakthrough, the Argentines had to swallow an embarrassing 2-0 defeat. Even at Messi’s appearance on the pitch and Argentine’s dominant performance, the Columbians emerged victorious.

This win marked Columbia’s first win against Argentina in tournament level since 20 years.

From the beginning until the end of first half, both teams exchanged attacks to no avail, despite the fact that Lionel Scaloni played his best men like Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Di Maria, and the rising star Giovani Lo Celso. Juventus superstar forward, Paulo Dybala, did not play the entire match. Scaloni seemed to reserve him for his ace card.

Highlight also went to James Rodriguez, Columbian wonder boy who shone in 2014 World Cup Brazil. Many expected Rodriguez to shine once more against Argentina.

The Argentines then cranked up their game since the whistle blows to commence the second half. Amplifying their attack, Messi and co tried their best to penetrate Columbia’s solid defense.

A brawl between Columbians and Argentines happened to occur when Juan Cuadrado tackled Messi, and the two sides just could not handle the heat. The tackle resulted yellow card for Cuadrado, who was then substituted to Jefferson Lema.

Nonetheless, Argentina seemed to forget to bolster their defense line. With the all-out play, Argentine’s defense line sagged so much that at 71st minute, Roger Martinez drove the ball into Franco Armani’s zone and shot it onto the net.

Carlos Quieroz then played Duvan Zapata, substituting Radamel Falcao who could not score any. 5 minutes into the game, the supersub Zapata proved his worth by scoring the second and wrapped it up for the Columbians to reign 2-0 against Argentina.

The score lasted until 90+5 minutes and Argentina had to bow its head down the tunnel. Quieroz then hailed his men for their collective effort in “neutralizing Messi”.

The loss was so bitter, since Messi claimed that he and his compatriots were trying to win Copa America. Messi’s desperation is reasonable, since this might be the last Copa America for him, and since his first appearance for Argentina, he could not lead his team to grab the trophy.

Fortunately for Argentina, they still have huge chance to escape the group stage alive. For the next game, Argentina will face Paraguay on 20 June, and then the Asian champion Qatar on 24 June.

Source: https://sports.ndtv.com/football/copa-america-lionel-messi-bitter-as-colombia-stun-argentina-2053998