Copa América Centenario Final
The Copa América Centenario Final was an association football match that took place on 26 June 2016 at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States to determine the winner of the Copa América Centenario.[5]
 MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford (pictured earlier in the tournament) hosted the final. | |||||||
| Event | Copa América Centenario | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| After extra time Chile won 4–2 on penalties | |||||||
| Date | 26 June 2016 | ||||||
| Venue | MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Claudio Bravo (Chile)[1] | ||||||
| Referee | Héber Lopes (Brazil)[2] | ||||||
| Attendance | 82,026[3] | ||||||
| Weather | 25 °C (77 °F), Clear[4] | ||||||
The match was contested by Argentina and Chile, making it a rematch of the 2015 final.[6][7] Chile ultimately won on penalty kicks 4–2 after a 0–0 draw. Forward Lionel Messi announced his retirement from international football after the defeat, his third consecutive final defeat with Argentina, although he later reversed this decision.[8][9]
Background
This edition was the first hosted by the United States. The match marks the sixth time Argentina reached the final. They have also been in the top two in previous 22 editions of the tournament. Their last championship (including worldwide tournaments) was won in 1993. Meanwhile, it was Chile's fourth final, also being in the top two in 2 more editions. They were the defending champions, winning their first international title in last year's edition as the host nation.
Route to the final
| Argentina | Round | Chile | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Result | Group stage | Opponent | Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
2–1 | Match 1 |  |
1–2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
5–0 | Match 2 | .svg.png){kind=small} |
2–1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
3–0 | Match 3 | |
4–2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Group D winner
|
Final standings | Group D runner-up
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opponent | Result | Knockout stage | Opponent | Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.svg.png){kind=small} |
4–1 | Quarter-finals |  |
7–0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
4–0 | Semi-finals |  |
2–0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Closing ceremony
Pitbull and Becky G[10] performed the official song of the tournament, "Superstar", immediately following the match and trophy ceremony.[11]
Match
As part of FIFA's approval of rule changes based on IFAB's new regulations, a fourth substitute was allowed on extra time.[5][12] However, neither team used the fourth substitution after the match went into extra time.
Details
          Argentina
|
     Chile
|
|
 |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:[2]
|
Match rules[5]
|
Statistics
| Statistic[13] | Argentina | Chile |
|---|---|---|
| Goals scored | 0 | 0 |
| Total shots | 18 | 4 |
| Shots on target | 3 | 2 |
| Saves | 2 | 3 |
| Ball possession | 46% | 54% |
| Corner kicks | 9 | 4 |
| Fouls committed | 14 | 22 |
| Offsides | 0 | 5 |
| Yellow cards | 5 | 3 |
| Red cards | 1 | 1 |
Post-match
The match had an attendance of 82,026, the largest in the history of New Jersey.[14]
Argentina lost their third consecutive final (preceded by the 2014 World Cup and 2015 Copa América), while Chile won their second consecutive final and defended the Copa América after their win in 2015.[14]
Lionel Messi announced his retirement from international football after the match, saying "I've done all I can. It hurts not to be a champion." Argentine newspaper La Nación speculated that other players, including Sergio Agüero, Javier Mascherano and Gonzalo Higuaín were set to retire;[15] ESPN Deportes reported that Ángel Di María, Lucas Biglia, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Éver Banega could potentially retire as well.[8][16] On 12 August 2016, Messi reverted his decision and announced his comeback to international football, saying "There were too many things in my head during the day of the last final and I seriously thought about letting it go, but I love my country and this jersey so much."[17][18]
References
- "Match 32 : Argentina vs Chile". Copa América Centenario. 26 June 2016. Archived from the original on 27 June 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
- "Referee Assignments for Copa America Centenario Matches". Copa América Centenario. 24 June 2016. Archived from the original on 27 June 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
- "Chile, campeón de la Copa América Centenario" [Chile, champion of the Copa América Centenario] (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 26 June 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
- "Weather History for East Rutherford, NJ [KNJEASTR3]". Weather Underground. 26 June 2016. Archived from the original on 27 June 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
- "2016 Copa America Centenario Regulations" (PDF). CONCACAF.com.
- "Argentina hammer four past outclassed USA to reach Copa América final". The Guardian. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
- "Chile beat Colombia after long weather delay to set up final with Argentina". Guardian. 23 June 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
- "Lionel Messi: Argentina forward retires from international football". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
- "Chile beat Argentina on penalties to win Copa América – as it happened". Guardian. 27 June 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
- Univision, Pitbull y Becky G cierran con broche de oro la Copa América Centenario (in Spanish), retrieved 26 June 2016
Pitbull and Becky G performed the official song in the Copa América Centenario Final. - "Copa America Centenario to host Official Press Conference Tomorrow June 24 in NYC ahead of historic final". CONCACAF. 23 June 2016. Archived from the original on 26 June 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
- "Copa America Centenario To Be First Around The World To Implement New Regulations Based On 2016/2017 Laws Of The Game". Copa América Centenario. 3 June 2016.
- "Argentina vs. Chile - Football Match Statistics - June 26, 2016". ESPN FC. ESPN Inc. 26 June 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
- Keh, Andrew (26 June 2016). "Lionel Messi and Argentina Miss Again as Chile Wins Copa América". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
- "La noche que explotó el vestuario de la selección: Agüero, Mascherano e Higuaín podrían seguir los pasos de Messi" [The night that the dressing room of the national team exploded: Agüero, Mascherano and Higuaín could follow Messi's steps]. La Nación (in Spanish). 27 June 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
- "Mascherano también renunció a la Selección" [Mascherano also quit the national team] (in Spanish). ESPN Deportes. 27 June 2016.
- "Lionel Messi vuelve a la selección de Argentina luego de su renuncia post Copa América" [Lionel Messi comes back to the Argentina national team after his post-Copa América resignation]. Canal 13 (in Spanish). 12 August 2016. Archived from the original on 10 November 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
- "Lionel Messi confirmó su regreso a la selección con esta frase" [Lionel Messi confirmed his comeback to the national team with this quote]. El Comercio (in Spanish). 12 August 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2017.