Lautaro Martínez, Angel Di María and and Paulo Dybala scored the goals as South American champions Argentina produced a masterful performance in the inaugural Finalissima at Wembley.
Lionel Messi won a trophy at Wembley for the second time in his career; his Barcelona side won 3-1 against Manchester United at the same venue in the 2011 UEFA Champions League final.
🇦🇷 Campeones, campeones 🏆🥳#Finalissima | @CopaAmerica pic.twitter.com/6nGrUwZNXC
— 🇮🇹 Finalissima 🇦🇷 (@EURO2024) June 1, 2022
This was a first defeat in 20 for Mancini’s side outside of Italy, winning 14 games. Their previous defeat outside of Italy was in September 2018, when the Azzurri lost 1-0 to Portugal in the UEFA Nations League.
Argentina have won each of their last five meetings with Italy. They won the three most recent, all friendlies, and won 4-3 on penalties in the 1990 FIFA World Cup semi-finals. Italy’s last victory against Argentina was a 3-1 win in a 1987 friendly.
Argentina are unbeaten in 32 international matches (W21 D11); their last defeat was in July 2019 against Brazil in the semi-finals of the Copa América.
Angel Di María tried to lob Gianluigi Donnarumma from halfway inside two minutes as the South American champions tugged the beard of their European counterparts, but it was discipline and superlative passing that left Argentina 2-0 up at the break. Donnarumma barely had time to recover from denying Lionel Messi after a typically sparkly move when the Paris Saint-Germain man held off Giovanni Di Lorenzo in the box and squared for Lautaro Martínez to flick the ball in from close range.
With Lionel Scaloni’s side asking all the questions, Italy might have been relieved to head in at the break just 1-0 down, yet they were caught on the hop in added time. Goalscorer turned provider as Lautaro Martínez took up possession in midfield and sent an elegantly weighted low ball forward for Dí María, who sped in to clip over the despairing Donnarumma.
Angel Di María tried to lob Gianluigi Donnarumma from halfway inside two minutes as the South American champions tugged the beard of their European counterparts, but it was discipline and superlative passing that left Argentina 2-0 up at the break. Donnarumma barely had time to recover from denying Lionel Messi after a typically sparkly move when the Paris Saint-Germain man held off Giovanni Di Lorenzo in the box and squared for Lautaro Martínez to flick the ball in from close range.
With Lionel Scaloni’s side asking all the questions, Italy might have been relieved to head in at the break just 1-0 down, yet they were caught on the hop in added time. Goalscorer turned provider as Lautaro Martínez took up possession in midfield and sent an elegantly weighted low ball forward for Dí María, who sped in to clip over the despairing Donnarumma.
Player of match :Lionel Messi :”He controlled the game from start to finish. He showed great skill to lay on the assist for Lautaro Martínez, provided key passes for his team-mates and was unlucky not to score himself. He has put in a masterclass performance for the Wembley crowd. It was a joy to watch ,”UEFA Technical Observer panel.
Italy defender Leonardo Bonucci said.”We knew that it would be a tough game. I hope that the whole of Italy supports this squad.”
Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini said ,”Right now, we have to accept the result because they were in very different form compared to us. There was a big difference between the two teams. I’m sorry, but that’s part of the game. In this stadium, which gave me incredible joy last year, I’m retiring with a lot of pride.”
Italy defender Giovanni Di Lorenzo said,”Argentina have great players in attack. It is always bad to lose a final but now there are other games to play at our best. It has been two intense years, we have achieved incredible things. We have important young players and a football style that allowed us to win a European championship. We must continue with our ideas and stay united to restart.”
Italy coach Roberto Mancini said ,”They were better than us. We were in the game in the first half but didn’t do enough to turn it around after the break.”
Argentina captain Lionel Messi said ,”Today was a nice test because Italy are a great team. We knew it was going to be a nice game and a nice setting in which to be champions. It was a beautiful final, full of Argentinians. What we experienced here was beautiful.”
Argentina forward Angel Di María said, “I am very happy to win this title. I want to dedicate it to all our families who always accompany us and to all these people who were present today – it was crazy. Everything changed after the Copa América. We take off that backpack and now we are enjoying ourselves when we play, having a good time and things are happening much more easily for us. We are excited but we must always keep our feet on the ground.”
Argentina forward Lautaro Martínez said,”The truth is that this is priceless. We’re very happy with how things now are, with the game and what this squad is. The truth is that it’s beautiful to feel the affection since we started this process. We always feel close to the public and that helps us because it’s a plus. There are still a few months to go before the World Cup. We know we have things to correct.”
Argentina forward Paulo Dybala said ,”For a football-mad country like Argentina, winning a trophy at Wembley by beating Italy really means a lot … It’s incredible. We always want to win.”
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said ,”What counts is the sacrifice and struggle shown by the group. Beyond the title, we always look for performance. We try to make people feel they can identify with the team.”
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