Messi receives his second red card; History favors Brazil to win the 2019 Copa America.
(Baonghean.vn) - Lionel Scaloni's team won 2-1 in the Copa America bronze medal match on the evening of July 6th, while history favors Brazil to win the championship in the final tomorrow.
Messi receives 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 game was tense with clashes between players from both sides. In the 38th minute, Lionel Messi and Gary Medel both received direct red cards after a personal retaliation.
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| Messi and Medel both received red cards at the end of the first half. Photo: Reuters. |
As early as the 12th minute, during a free kick awarded to Argentina in the middle of the field, the Chilean defense lacked concentration. They failed to retreat in time, allowing Aguero to get behind them, receive a pass from Messi, dribble past goalkeeper Gabriel Arias, and score.
After opening the scoring, Chile suffered a setback when Alexis Sanchez was injured and had to leave the field, being replaced by Junior Fernandes. With a highly attacking lineup, Argentina put pressure on their opponents' goal. Messi had a shot that was blocked by a Chilean defender, but shortly after, Dybala doubled the lead.
The Chilean players seemed to lose their composure after falling behind by two goals, and the match was interrupted several times by clashes. In one challenge on the wing, Messi pushed Medel from behind. The Chilean defender reacted aggressively, headbutting Messi. Referee Mario Diaz de Vivar immediately showed red cards to both players. This was a somewhat harsh decision for Messi, but the referee upheld the decision after consulting VAR.
At the start of the second half, Arias made two excellent saves, blocking shots from Lo Celso and Dybala. Chile were then awarded a penalty after Lo Celso fouled Charles Aranguiz. The foul occurred near the edge of the penalty area, but after using VAR, the referee determined it took place inside the 16-yard box. Arturo Vidal successfully converted the penalty, reducing Chile's deficit. That was also the final score of the match.
History favors Brazil to win the championship.
"If we follow the logic of history, Brazil wouldn't need extra time to defeat Peru. The Samba team has won all four matches against Peru when playing in Rio de Janeiro," wrote Gazeta Esportiva.
The first match between the two footballing nations in Rio was in 1949, as part of the Copa America. Because 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, during the 1958 World Cup qualifiers, Brazil won 1-0 and secured their place in the finals.
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| Brazil will have a significant advantage going into the final against Peru at 3:00 AM on July 8th (Hanoi time). |
The first friendly match between Brazil and Peru took place in 1969 at the Maracana stadium. The visitors surprisingly opened the scoring, but Brazil calmly equalized and then won 2-1. The most recent match between the two teams in Rio was in 1978, and the Brazilian team once again won easily 3-0.
In the 62 years since their Roca Cup final defeat to Argentina, Brazil played 11 more cup finals at the Maracana and won every single one. The most memorable victory for the "Seleccao" in this series was at the 2013 Confederations Cup, where Neymar and his teammates defeated the reigning world champions Spain 3-0.
HAGL bids farewell to its best striker.
"Chevaughn Walsh is performing well, but he's injured. We're forced to find a replacement. The team has just signed Brazilian striker Felipe Martins," HAGL football team manager Nguyen Tan Anh shared on the evening of July 6th.
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 charts alongside Joao De Souza of Viettel and Oseni Ganiyu Bolaji of Hanoi FC with 7 goals each.
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| Chevaughn Walsh is the foreign player who has adapted best to the generation of players like Xuan Truong, Tuan Anh, etc., since they were promoted to play in the V-League by Chairman 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 3rd. However, just a few minutes after coming onto the field, he requested to be substituted due to injury. HAGL's doctor diagnosed that the Jamaican player would be out of action for at least a month, so the team was forced to buy a replacement.
Having lost to Quang Nam 4-5 in the penalty shootout after a 0-0 draw in regular time, HAGL were eliminated from the National Cup. The team owned by Chairman Duc now only has one competition left: the V-League, where they currently sit 10th with 15 points after 13 matches.
On July 7th, HAGL will play their V-League Round 14 match at home, a rematch against Quang Nam. This could be Xuan Truong's debut match after returning from Buriram FC in Thailand.
