Lionel Messi’s Argentina face off against James Rodriguez and Colombia on Sunday night in the Copa America final in Miami, kickoff set for 8 p.m. ET. It’s a poetic Copa America final as Colombia will meet the last team that defeated them for a chance at their first title since 2001 on Sunday in Miami. It would be only their second title ever and to do it, Los Cafeteros would need to get past the reigning champions in Lionel Messi and Argentina. Already setting one record in tournament play, James Rodriguez now has the most assists in any single Copa America with six but he’ll be eying at least a seventh to run Colombia’s unbeaten streak to 29 matches in all competitions.
Here are our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
Official starting lineups
Colombia: Camilo Vargas, Johan Mojica, Carlos Cuesta, Davidson Sanchez, Santiago Arias, Jefferson Lerma, Richard Rios, Luis Diaz, James Rodriguez, Jhon Arias, Jhon Cordoba
Argentina: Emiliano Martinez, Nicolas Tagliafico, Lisandro Martinez, Cristian Romero, Gonzalo Montiel, Angel Di Maria, Rodrigo De Paul, Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister, Lionel Messi, Julian Alvarez
How to watch and odds
- Date: Sunday, July 14 | Time: 8 p.m. ET
- Location: Hard Rock Stadium — Miami Gardens, Florida
- TV: Fox (Match will initially air on FS1 due to an address by President Joe Biden at 8 p.m. ET) | Live stream: Fubo (Try for free)
- Odds: Argentina +125; Draw +200; Colombia +260
Storylines
Colombia: Rolling through every obstacle in their path, Nestor Lorenzo will have yet one more to overcome if Colombia are to win a Copa America title. Right back Daniel Munoz will be suspended for the final after picking up two yellow cards in the first half against Uruguay. After Rodriguez, Munoz has arguably been Colombia’s second-best player during this tournament scoring two goals while playing excellent defense. Likely to be replaced by Santiago Arias in the final, it will cause a slightly different look to Colombia’s attack.
Argentina: Need more of the Argentina that faced Canada and less of the side that has performed below expectations for most of this tournament. While Messi has been dealing with fitness concerns, he was still able to score against the Canucks but it has been the form of Lautaro Martinez and Julian Alvarez that has powered Argentina during this tournament. They will need more from their defense, especially on set plays where Rodriguez has assisted four goals, but if there’s a team that can stop a high-powered attack in a final, it’s Argentina.
Prediction
Colombia will come full circle to win Copa America and extend their unbeaten run. With yet another victory, who will end up stopping this team? Pick: Colombia 2, Argentia 1
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