The Copa América Centenario final was a soccer match that took place on June 26, 2016, to determine the winner of the Copa América Centenario. It was the 45th final of the Copa América, and it took place at MetLife Stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, outside of New York City.

The match was contested by Argentina and Chile, making it a rematch of the 2015 final. At this tournament, Argentina and Chile soon faced each other in Group D, and the victory belonged to Argentina with a score of 2–1. But in the final, like the last one, Chile ultimately won on penalty kicks after a 0–0 draw, with Chile scoring only their last 4 penalties after going first and 2 Argentines missing. However, Chile won 4-2 this time. Forward Lionel Messi announced his retirement from international soccer after the defeat, having missed Argentina's first penalty in the shootout and suffering his third consecutive final defeat with Argentina, although he later reversed this decision.

Background This edition of the Copa América was the first hosted by the United States. The match marked the sixth time Argentina reached the final since the tournament was rebranded Copa América in 1975. They also finished in the top two in 22 editions of the tournament's predecessor, the Campeonato Sudamericano, in which winners were decided in a single group stage with no final match. At this time, Argentina's last international tournament win had been the Copa America in 1993. Meanwhile, this was Chile's fourth final appearance, having also finished in the top two in 1955 and 1956. Chile was the defending champions, having won their first international title in the previous year's edition as the host nation. This was Argentina's third major tournament final in a row, after the 2014 FIFA World Cup final and 2015 Copa América final, a feat only done twice before in the history of national teams, by West Germany (1972, 1974, 1976) and Spain (2008, 2010, 2012).

Route to the final Argentina Round Chile Opponent Result Group stage Opponent Result 2–1 Match 1 1–2 5–0 Match 2 2–1 3–0 Match 3 4–2 Group D winnerFinal standings Group D runner-up Opponent Result Knockout stage Opponent Result 4–1 Quarter-finals 7–0 4–0 Semi-finals 2–0

Closing ceremony Pitbull and Becky GPitbull and Becky G performed the official song in the Copa América Centenario Final. performed the official song of the tournament, "Superstar", immediately following the match and trophy ceremony.

Match As part of FIFA's approval of rule changes based on IFAB's new regulations, a fourth substitute was allowed in extra time. However, neither team used the fourth substitution after the match went into extra time.

Details

GK1Sergio RomeroRB4Gabriel MercadoCB17Nicolás OtamendiCB13Ramiro Funes MoriLB16Marcos Rojo DM6Lucas BigliaDM14Javier Mascherano CM19Éver Banega RW10Lionel Messi (c) LW7Ángel Di María CF9Gonzalo Higuaín Substitutions:MF5Matías Kranevitter MF18Erik Lamela FW11Sergio Agüero Manager:Gerardo Martino |valign="top"| |valign="top" width="50%"| GK1Claudio Bravo (c)RB4Mauricio IslaCB18Gonzalo JaraCB17Gary MedelLB15Jean Beausejour DM21Marcelo Díaz CM8Arturo Vidal CM20Charles Aránguiz RW6José Pedro Fuenzalida LW7Alexis Sánchez CF11Eduardo Vargas Substitutions:MF5Francisco Silva FW16Nicolás Castillo FW22Edson Puch Manager: Juan Antonio Pizzi

Man of the Match: Claudio Bravo (Chile)

Assistant referees: Kléber Lúcio Gil (Brazil) Bruno Boschilia (Brazil) Fourth official: Roberto García (Mexico) Fifth official: José Luis Camargo (Mexico) |}Match rules 90 minutes. 30 minutes of extra time if necessary. Penalty shoot-out if scores still level. Maximum of three substitutions, with a fourth allowed in extra time.

Statistics Statistic 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 Chile won their second consecutive final and defended the Copa América after their win in 2015, while Argentina lost their third consecutive final (preceded by the 2014 World Cup and 2015 Copa América). The match had an attendance of 82,026, the largest in the history of New Jersey.

Lionel Messi announced his retirement from international soccer 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. ESPN Deportes reported that Ángel Di María, Lucas Biglia, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Éver Banega could potentially retire as well. On August 12, 2016, Messi reverted his decision and announced his comeback to international soccer, 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." Three of the aforementioned players (Agüero, Di María and Messi) would eventually win their first international title at the Copa América five years later. They would also go on to win the 2022 World Cup, with Messi and Di Maria scoring in the final.

References

External links Copa América Centenario official website