Messi receives second red card; History supports Brazil to win Copa America 2019

Messi received a red card for the second time

This result was Argentina's revenge against the opponent who defeated them in the 2015 and 2016 Copa America finals. Although it was only a third-place match, the match was tense with clashes between players from both sides. In the 38th minute, Lionel Messi and Gary Medel both received red cards after a personal retaliation.

Messi and Medel both received red cards at the end of the first half. Photo: Reuters.

As early as the 12th minute, in a situation where Argentina was awarded a free kick in the middle of the field, the Chilean defense lacked concentration. They did not retreat in time and allowed Aguero to escape behind, receive Messi's pass before dribbling past goalkeeper Gabriel Arias and scoring.

After the opening goal, Chile suffered a setback when Alexis Sanchez was injured and had to leave the field, replaced by Junior Fernandes. With an attacking lineup, Argentina put pressure on the opponent's goal. Messi had a shot blocked by a Chilean defender but Dybala doubled the lead shortly after.

The Chilean players seemed to lose their composure after being 2 goals down and the match was interrupted several times due to collisions. During a dispute on the sidelines, Messi pushed Medel from behind. The Chilean defender reacted very harshly, headbutting Messi. Referee Mario Diaz de Vivar immediately showed red cards to both players. This was a somewhat harsh decision on Messi but the referee upheld the decision after being assisted by VAR.

In the second half, Arias played brilliantly in blocking two shots from Lo Celso and Dybala. Chile then received a penalty for Lo Celso's foul on Charles Aranguiz. The foul was on the edge of the penalty area, but after using VAR, the referee determined that the incident took place inside the 16m50 area. Arturo Vidal successfully converted the penalty, helping Chile reduce the gap. That was also the final score of the match.

History favors Brazil to win

"If history is to be believed, Brazil would not need extra time to defeat Peru. The samba team won all four matches against Peru when playing in Rio de Janeiro," wrote Gazeta Esportiva.

The first match between the two football powers in Rio was in 1949, in the Copa America. Since the Maracana Stadium was under construction, the two teams played at the San Januario Stadium, and the "Seleccao" easily won 7-1. In the next match in 1957, in the 1958 World Cup qualifiers, Brazil won 1-0 and qualified for the finals.

Brazil will have many advantages in the final match with Peru at 3am on July 8 (Hanoi time).

The first friendly between Brazil and Peru took place in 1969 at the Maracana Stadium. The visitors surprised everyone by opening the scoring, but Brazil calmly equalized and won 2-1. The last match between the two teams in Rio was in 1978, and the yellow and green team again won easily 3-0.

"Chevaughn Walsh is performing well, but is injured. We have to have a replacement. The team has just signed a contract with Brazilian striker Felipe Martins," said HAGL Football Team Leader Nguyen Tan Anh on the evening of July 6.

Chevaughn Walsh arrived in Vietnam ahead of the 2019 season. The Jamaican striker adapted very quickly to the V-League environment. He is currently leading the scoring list with 7 goals, along with Viettel's Joao De Souza and Hanoi's Oseni Ganiyu Bolaji.

Chevaughn Walsh is the foreign player who has adapted best to the generation of Xuan Truong, Tuan Anh... since they were promoted to play in the V-League by Mr. Duc. Photo: Lam Thoa

Chevaughn Walsh was brought on in the second half when HAGL visited Quang Nam in the quarter-finals of the National Cup on the afternoon of July 3. However, just a few minutes after entering the field, he asked to be substituted due to injury. HAGL's doctor diagnosed that the Jamaican player would have to rest for at least 1 month, so the hot team was forced to choose a replacement.