Messi and Neymar prepare for a battle of the ages

Argentina will look to end their 28-year trophy drought as they face reigning Copa America champions Brazil in the final this weekend.

This meeting will be the 50th time the two heavyweights of South America play one another in a competitive setting and their records are almost identical. Argentina have won 19 of the 49 games compared to Brazil’s 18 and have scored one more goal in the process.

The last competitive matchup was during the 2019 Copa America semi-final where Brazil beat La Albiceleste 2-0 on their way to winning the tournament for the ninth time.

Route to the final

Both sides remain unbeaten in the competition winning five of their six games so far.

Brazil began the tournament with a 3-0 victory over Venezuela on the opening night before following it up with their biggest win in the tournament after beating Peru 4-0, who they also beat in the semi-finals.

Their win over Colombia provided a huge mental boost for them as they came from behind for the first time and won the game in the tenth minute of additional time thanks to a goal from Casemiro.

Seleção have the best attacking and defensive record in this tournament scoring 12 goals and only conceding two.

After drawing their opening fixture to Chile, Argentina bounced back with 1-0 victories over Uruguay and Paraguay before a resounding 4-1 win over Bolivia.

They then overcame Colombia on penalties in the semi-finals. Emiliano Martinez made three saves in the shootout to get his country into the finals for the third time in the last four attempts in the competition.

Messi vs Neymar

There is always pressure on Lionel Messi and Neymar to turn up for their national teams but after disappointing seasons for Barcelona and PSG respectively (in terms of silverware), there was added demand from the fans.

Messi is the top scorer in the tournament with four goals and has also provided the most assists, helping his teammates to five goals so far. The six-time Ballon d’Or winner has also created the most chances, taken the most shots, and completed the most take-ons in the competition.

Neymar comes second in rankings of the previously mentioned statistics including direct goal contributions. His skill and flair however have left fans in awe once again as his trickery continues to cause issues for defenders and has led to him being the most fouled player in the tournament.

This was highlighted during Lucas Paqueta’s winner against Peru as Neymar’s close control and nutmegging ability helped provide the assist for the goal.

After Brazil’s semi-final win, Neymar stated he wanted to face his former teammate in the final.

? #Neymar fue directo: Quiere a #Argentina en la final de #CopaAmerica pic.twitter.com/JQar0eQkKs

— Tigo Sports Costa Rica (@tigosports_cr) July 6, 2021

Argentinian heartbreak

In the 2015 and 2016 editions of the tournament, Argentina suffered defeat in the finals in cruel fashion as they lost on penalties at the hands of Chile on both occasions.

In the 2015 final, the game finished 0-0 after extra time and Chile won the shootout after Alexis Sanchez finished with a Panenka-style penalty. It was a similar affair the following year as no goals were scored in the 120 minutes of action before Chile won the shootout, in which Messi missed his spot-kick.

This meant Argentina had lost three major finals in three years starting with the loss to Germany in extra time at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. This led to Messi briefly retiring from international football as the disappointment was too much for him.

The final will take place during the early hours of Sunday morning at 1 am at the iconic Maracana Stadium.

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