Brazil and Argentina meet in a mouth-watering Copa America final this Sunday at Maracana stadium, and the tie will see former Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi and Neymar go head-to-head.
The pair spent four years together at Camp Nou before Neymar moved on to PSG, and they remain good friends to this day.
Argentina narrowly escaped defeat in the semifinal when they advanced past Colombia in a penalty shootout after ending extra time deadlocked at 1-1.
Brazil defeated Peru in their semifinal match, thanks to a lone goal from Lucas Paqueta who scored in the 35th minute, giving Brazil the eventual game-winner as the match ended 1-0.
Also, this will mean a massive opportunity for Lionel Scaloni’s boys to bring home a long-awaited trophy following many painful memories, especially over the last few years. Argentina got close to succeeding recently but came up short every time.
It’s been a long time since the two-time world champions were crowned; despite them having great generations of players, including Messi, who is seeking silverware with the national team.
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Argentina is heading into the Copa America 2021 final hoping to finally get their hands on the continental trophy after a long time.
But according to the Brazilian forward, that friendship could be on the line in the Copa América final this weekend.
“Messi is, as I’ve always said, the best player I’ve ever seen play and he’s a great friend, but now we’re in a final, we’re rivals,” said Neymar, as cited by the Mirror.
“I want to win and I really want to win this title, which would be my first Copa America.
“Messi has been looking for his first title with the national team for many years, and every time Brazil is not present at the tournament, I cheer for him. That’s what I’ve been cheering for in the 2014 World Cup final, when he faced Germany.
“Now Brazil is in the final, so our friendship is on the line. The respect between us is still great but only one can win.
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“When you’re friends with someone, it’s hard to forget the friendship you have – but for example when you play video games with a friend, you want to beat him anyway. It’ll be the same thing on Saturday.”
Brazil are slight favourites to win the tournament on home soil, but will be without the services of Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus after he was handed a two-match ban for his horror tackle against Chile, prompting a furious reaction from Neymar.
Argentina have not won the Copa America since 1993, being 28 years without claiming the continental title. That time, Alfio Basile’s men recorded a back-to-back Copa America championship leaving Brazil and Colombia on the way through penalties and beating Mexico in the final.
From then on, Argentina have failed to repeat that finish even though they were close to it, losing four finals in the last six tournaments. Will they finally end the drought at Maracana Stadium against the hosts?
Messi leads the pack in offense as he’s notched six goals and six assists, while Neymar has five goals and five assists as well. In a star-studded game that could very well come down to penalties, the world will be watching this final as it could be a win for either side in the end.
The fact that Messi hasn’t won a major trophy with Argentina’s senior team sums up pretty well how La Albiceleste have been struggling to succeed. Not even one of the greatest players of all time has been able to end the team’s trophyless streak so far, but he hopes to do so this Sunday.
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