2015 Copa América Final

The 2015 Copa América Final was the final match of the 2015 Copa América, an international football tournament organized by CONMEBOL that was played in Chile.

2015 Copa América Final
The Estadio Nacional in Santiago hosted the final
Event2015 Copa América
Chile Argentina
0 0
After extra time
Chile won 4–1 on penalties
Date4 July 2015
VenueEstadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos, Santiago
Man of the MatchArturo Vidal (Chile)
RefereeWilmar Roldán (Colombia)
Attendance45,693
Weather20°C (68°F), Clear

The match was held on 4 July 2015 in Santiago's Estadio Nacional, and contested by hosts Chile, and Argentina. Following a goalless draw, Chile defeated Argentina in a penalty shootout to win their first title and qualify for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia.

A new trophy was supposed to be created for the tournament and was to be unveiled on 4 July 2015 at the final.[1] No trophy was unveiled amidst the FIFA corruption scandal.

Background

This edition was the seventh hosted by Chile. The match marked the third time Chile had reached a final. They had never won the competition; their last finals appearance was in 1987, when they were defeated by Uruguay. Meanwhile, Argentina reached its fifth final in Chilean territory.[2] Their previous finals appearance was in 2007, when they were defeated by Brazil, while their last championship (including worldwide tournaments) was won in 1993.[3]

Including the editions from 1916 to 1967, when the Campeonato Sudamericano[4] had a round-robin tournament format without a final match; it was the fifth appearance of Chile, and the twenty-seventh of Argentina, in the top two.[5]

Route to the final
Chile Round Argentina
Opponent Result Group stage Opponent Result
 Ecuador 2–0 Match 1  Paraguay 2–2
 Mexico 3–3 Match 2  Uruguay 1–0
 Bolivia 5–0 Match 3  Jamaica 1–0
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Chile 3210103+77
 Bolivia 311137−44
 Ecuador 310246−23
 Mexico 302145−12
 Final standings
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Argentina 321042+27
 Paraguay 312043+15
 Uruguay 31112204
 Jamaica 300303−30
Opponent Result Knockout stage Opponent Result
 Uruguay 1–0 Quarter-finals  Colombia 0–0 (5–4 pen.)
 Peru 2–1 Semi-finals  Paraguay 6–1

Match

Summary
Alexis Sánchez scored the winner for Chile in the penalty shootout

Both sides had opportunities to open the scoring, and Chilean goalkeeper Claudio Bravo made a close-range save from Sergio Agüero, who had been set up by Lionel Messi. However, soon afterwards, Argentina made the first substitution due to a hamstring injury, with Ángel Di María making way for Ezequiel Lavezzi. Chile finished the first half with three yellow cards, while Argentina had none.[6]

Chile began the second half with attacking momentum, and the first Argentine yellow card went to Javier Mascherano for deliberate handball. With 15 minutes remaining, both teams made substitutions, with Argentina switching their center-forward from Agüero to Gonzalo Higuaín, and Chile making an alteration in midfield, replacing Jorge Valdivia with Matías Fernández. Minutes later, Arturo Vidal went down in the penalty area, but no foul was called. With nine minutes remaining of regulation time, Argentina made their final substitution, Javier Pastore was replaced by Éver Banega; soon after his entrance into the game, Banega was fouled by Charles Aránguiz, who was booked. Argentina then had their best chance of the game with only seconds remaining in regular time. Argentina staged a counterattack after Chile lost the ball. Messi dribbled past two Chilean defenders before passing the ball to Lavezzi near the penalty area, Lavezzi then passed the ball to Higuaín, who charged down the right side with a tight angle to shoot. His shot was inches wide of the inside of the post, however, and instead the ball hit the outside of the net. After regulation time, the game remained goalless.[6]

Early into extra time, Chile made their second substitution, replacing Eduardo Vargas with Ángelo Henríquez. In the final minutes of extra time, Chile had a corner, which was cleared by Lucas Biglia and Higuaín. During the second period of extra time, Chile had their best chance to take the lead, after a goal throw from Claudio Bravo failed to be properly cleared away by Mascherano, leaving Alexis Sánchez to run down the pitch and shoot, only for his shot to go over the crossbar. Later on, Messi was fouled, giving a free kick to Argentina, which Gary Medel cleared three times from the Chilean penalty area to take the game into a penalty shootout.[6]

Matías Fernández took the first penalty, dispatching it past Argentine goalkeeper Sergio Romero, and Messi netted Argentina's first attempt to keep the scores level after the first round. Second was Vidal, who scored, despite Romero making contact with his shot. Higuaín then missed, with an attempt which went too high. Aránguíz scored from a powerful attempt and then Bravo saved Banega's shot. Alexis Sánchez scored the winning penalty, a Panenka-style finish.[6][7]

Details
Chile 0–0 (a.e.t.) Argentina
Report
Penalties
Fernández
Vidal
Aránguiz
Sánchez 		4–1 Messi
Higuaín
Banega
Attendance: 45,693[8]
Chile
Argentina
GK1Claudio Bravo (c)
CB5Francisco Silva 24'
CB21Marcelo Díaz 34'
CB17Gary Medel 44'
RM4Mauricio Isla
CM20Charles Aránguiz 87'
CM8Arturo Vidal
LM15Jean Beausejour
AM10Jorge Valdivia 75'
CF11Eduardo Vargas 95'
CF7Alexis Sánchez
Substitutes:
GK12Paulo Garcés
GK23Johnny Herrera
DF2Eugenio Mena
DF3Miiko Albornoz
DF13José Rojas
DF6José Pedro Fuenzalida
MF14Matías Fernández 75'
MF16David Pizarro
MF19Felipe Gutiérrez
FW9Mauricio Pinilla
FW22Ángelo Henríquez 95'
Manager:
Jorge Sampaoli
GK1Sergio Romero
RB4Pablo Zabaleta
CB15Martín Demichelis
CB17Nicolás Otamendi
LB16Marcos Rojo 55'
RM6Lucas Biglia
CM14Javier Mascherano  56'
LM21Javier Pastore 81'
RW10Lionel Messi (c)
CF11Sergio Agüero 74'
LW7Ángel Di María 29'
Substitutes:
GK12Nahuel Guzmán
GK23Agustín Marchesín
DF2Ezequiel Garay
DF3Facundo Roncaglia
DF13Milton Casco
MF5Fernando Gago
MF8Roberto Pereyra
MF19Éver Banega 91'  81'
FW9Gonzalo Higuaín 74'
FW18Carlos Tevez
FW20Erik Lamela
FW22Ezequiel Lavezzi 29'
Manager:
Gerardo Martino

Man of the Match:
Arturo Vidal (Chile)[9]

Assistant referees:
Alexander Guzmán (Colombia)
Cristian De La Cruz (Colombia)
Fourth official:
José Argote (Venezuela)
Fifth official:
Christian Lescano (Ecuador)[10]

Statistics
Overall
Statistic Chile Argentina
Goals scored00
Total shots166
Shots on target94
Ball possession52%48%
Corner kicks47
Fouls committed2921
Yellow cards43
Red cards00
gollark: ++remind 9h use superior ABR Reminding 2.1™ and not R. Danny
gollark: I know, osmarksISA-2028™ is so much better as a target for this.
gollark: Maybe an oddly projected cuboid.
gollark: I don't see anything.
gollark: How does it work?

References
  1. "Uniting the Americas / The Cup of the Century" (PDF). Traffic Sports. 10 March 2015. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  2. Including the final round of 1991 edition
  3. History of Copa América from 1975 (CONMEBOL)
  4. Previous name of Copa América
  5. All-time statistics of Copa América (RSSSF)
  6. Hill, Tim (4 July 2015). "Chile win Copa América after beating Argentina on penalties – as it happened". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  7. "Chile 0 Argentina 0 (4-1 on pens)". BBC Sport. 5 July 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  8. "Chile's long wait for Copa América glory over as Argentina pay the penalty". Copa America Chile 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  9. "Vidal named MasterCard Man of the Match in Copa América final win". Copa América Chile 2015. 4 July 2015. Archived from the original on 6 July 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  10. "Árbitros designados para la gran final de la Copa América" [Designated officials for the Copa América grand final] (in Spanish). CONMEBOL.com. 1 July 2015. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015.
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