Argentina beat Brazil to win Copa America cup

Argentina’s winning goal came in the 22nd minute after Rodrigo de Paul made a long pass to Angel di Maria.

The win was a particular triumph for Barcelona striker Lionel Messi, who picked up his first ever title in a blue and white shirt after more than a decade of club and individual honours.

Messi finished the tournament’s joint top goalscorer with four goals and was elected joint best player.

However, he missed a golden opportunity to wrap the game up with two minutes remaining.

Brazil piled on the pressure in an exciting second half but even with five strikers on the field they could not get an equaliser against an Argentine defence.

The victory was Argentina’s 15th Copa America triumph.

Their win extended their sequence of undefeated matches to 20 under Lionel Scaloni and handed Brazil their first competitive defeat since they lost to Belgium in the quarter-finals of the 2018 World Cup.