NBC Sports
By
July 12, 2021
At long last, Lionel Messi has won a major international trophy after Argentina bested Brazil 1-0 in a riveting, rough-and-tumble final at the 2021 Copa America on Saturday.
After doing much of the heavy lifting through the group stage and earlier knockout rounds (4 goals and five assists, making him the top performer in each category at this year’s Copa America), Messi got a little help from his friends in a cup final. Messi came up short while performing virtually on his own in three of his four previous final defeats, but on Saturday Angel di Maria stepped into the void when Messi had a rather pedestrian (by his own standard) outing against Brazil.