Brazil vs Argentina: 5 players to watch out for | Copa America 2021
A strange Copa America 2021 will culminate in a final most neutrals would have been rooting for, as order in the world has seemingly been restored. Hosts Brazil will meet fierce rivals Argentina at the historic Maracana Stadium to decide the fate of a tournament that suffered from an existential crisis even before a ball had been kicked.
Colombia and Argentina were originally scheduled to host Copa America 2020 last year, but the tournament got postponed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Owing to political protests in Colombia this year and mounting COVID-19 cases in Argentina, Brazil became the tournament's new hosts at the eleventh hour, with the tournament rebranded as Copa America 2021.
However, with a plethora of COVID-19 cases afflicting the country, the decision was widely criticised. The Brazil team, which had publicly asserted that they did not want the tournament to be hosted in the country because of the pandemic, looked comfortable on the pitch once they took to it, dominating opponents on their way to the summit clash of Copa America 2021.
Their quest to become the first team to win the Copa America on consecutive occasions as hosts now involves one last hurdle: Argentina.
A battle of superstars in a final for the masses | Copa America 2021
Lionel Messi, who lost the 2007 Copa America final to the Selecao, has ended up on the losing side in four such matches in total in a career of near-misses at the international level. He has once again been his team's, and the tournament's, best player and will be desperate to land that elusive silverware missing in his glittering resume.
He will be up against good friend Neymar, who has also been on top of his game in the tournament. The two stars had been part of the feared MSN trio at Barcelona that won the club many laurels. But neither have won the Copa, with Neymar missing out on Brazil's 2019 triumph due to injury.
The Copa America 2021 final thus provides a riveting narrative for the neutrals and promises to be a spectacle for the masses. On that note, here are the five players to watch out for in the Copa America 2021 final
#5 Lautaro Martinez (Argentina)
Often, Lionel Messi has been let down at the international level due to lack of support, especially from a strong centre-forward. That's because the likes of Gonzalo Higuain have strangely let Argentina down on important occasions.
But Inter Milan forward Lautaro Martinez has seemed the perfect foil to Messi at Copa America 2021 and is peaking at the right moment. Martinez netted in the semi-final against Colombia and has notched up three goals in five games so far. Someone needs to be at the end of Messi's quality deliveries on the big day if the great man is not scoring himself, and that man against Brazil could very well be Martinez.
#4 Lucas Paqueta (Brazil)
Lucas Paqueta has turned his club career around at Lyon and has emerged from the shadows to be Copa America 2021's breakout player. Having scored the winners in the knockout games against Chile and Peru, he has been publicly acclaimed by manager Tite as one who understands his game better than most in the Brazil team.
Paqueta has played five of Brazil's six matches at Copa America 2021, playing in the attacking midfielder's role so often donned by Philippe Coutinho. His partnership with Neymar has also been pivotal to Brazil's success at Copa America 2021.