Between dances, anthems and a lot of soccer, the United States cut the ribbon of what promises to be “the best Copa America in history.”
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The party could not start without a spectacular show that moved to the urban rhythm of the artist Feid, who made the 71,000 spectators at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium dance surrounded by the mixture of music and passion for soccer.
The vibrations were accompanied by a multicolor parade with samples of cultural expressions from the host country; as well as the other 15 participating nations.
Copa America: Controversial inauguration due to religious message
After Feid ran through his EP ‘Ferxxocalipsis‘, center stage gave way to the presentation of the most coveted soccer cup on the continent, clutched in the arms of former Argentine striker Sergio ‘Kun’ Agüero, who displayed it with a clear desire to see his Argentine team defend the crown. This, in front of thousands of fans who hope to see their teams take it from them.
Also present were Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, and Alejandro Domínguez, president of the South American Football Confederation, who came to greet the 22 players.
As if that were not enough, a little controversy was at hand, and not necessarily on the field, but from the presentation of the tournament with a Christian prayer. Amen! shouted the Atlanta crowd.
The referee blew his whistle and the crowd immediately exploded before witnessing a new record for Lionel Messi, as the player with the most games in Copa América history (35). People turned to him from beginning to end chanting his name, knowing that this may be the last chance to see ‘La Pulga‘.
Despite arriving as favorites, Argentina experienced a real headache with the ability and generalship of Alphonso Davies, the most dangerous Canadian player.
As the ball traveled through his feet, alarms went off inside the Argentine defense, overshadowing Messi’s ‘show’. This may have caught the attention of Real Madrid, a victim of Davies during the Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich.
The Canadian team, one of six Concacaf guest teams qualifying to this Conmebol tournament, put up a good challenge to the world champion Argentines during the first 45 minutes, as they generated the most dangerous play with a header by Stephen Eustáquio, which was stopped by Emiliano ‘Dibu’ Martínez.
Always Messi
The momentum was very short-lived. It was as if Argentina had pressed a reset button when Messi and Argentina did their thing with just four minutes of the second half. The captain delivered a great pass to Alexis Mac Allister, who was brought down in the area and Julián Álvarez pushed the ball to deliver the first goal of the Copa América.
Now, the Argentine fans put on their show to the rhythm of “Muchachos, muchachos”, the song that accompanied them during the 2022 World Cup.
Room opened up and Messi had two opportunities to increase the lead alone in front of the goalkeeper. Perhaps it was overconfidence, but the Argentine reserved the celebration of his goals for later in the tournament.
In the middle of Messi’s missed opportunities, a scare came over the stadium when he was swept and requested paramedics. Fortunately, after a short pause, the Inter Miami player could continue without any problem, relieving his fans.
Although the definition was not his thing, he always has an ‘ace up his sleeve’ – assists. With a simple touch, Messi set up Lautaro Martinez to make it 2-0 in the 88th minute.
Surely, Argentina did not play its best game, but having great players on its squad and above all, its captain is enough to firmly set it as the top team of the tournament.
