Brazil vs. Argentina
An early goal by Ángel Di María gives Messi his first international trophy as Argentina beat Brazil 1-0 at the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro. It was a tough game with a total 41 fouls committed and 9 yellow cards administered. The goal came at the 22nd minute when Di María received a good 50-60-yard pass by teammate Rodrigo De Paul, which caught Brazilian defender Renan Lodi out of position. Di María controlled the pass and was able to tap it over keeper Ederson and into the goal to give La Albiceleste the lead.
Brazil would start switching gears in the second half as they would end the game with 60% of possession. They started to play more offensively but were unable to find an equalizer in their 13 attempts.
The game started to get out of hand towards then end as there where many ugly fouls. Neymar was targeted once again, including a defender trying to tackle him as if this was American Football, but the Uruguayan referee Esteban Ostojich did a good job at catching on towards the final minutes.
This was an important win for Lionel Messi, as it is his first international trophy. He has finished as runner-up four times in this tournament including the two times they lost to Chile.
Photo: Ángel Di María, Wikipedia, Creative Commons
