Brazil without Neymar has proved to be better than Argentina with Lionel Messi.In a performance that ended with “ole” chants from the crowd, Brazil beat Argentina 2-0 on Tuesday and will play Sunday’s Copa America final at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro seeking its 10th South American title.
Superstar Messi, meanwhile, remains without trophies for his national team despite showing his best performance in the tournament at the Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte.
Gabriel Jesus opened the scoring at 19 minutes after a samba-style play from right-back Dani Alves. It was the striker’s first goal in the tournament.
Roberto Firmino added the second at 71 minutes assisted by Jesus in front of 56,000 fans that sang chants on Messi’s lack of trophies with Argentina and Diego Maradona’s drug problems to celebrate.
Brazil’s opponent will be determined on Wednesday when defending champions Chile take on underdogs Peru at the Arena do Gremio in Porto Alegre.
Wearing a flamboyant golden jacket, striker Neymar, who left the squad shortly before Copa America because of a right ankle injury, celebrated Brazil’s victory with friends and with far-right President Jair Bolsonaro in the stadium’s corporate boxes.
For the first time since Copa America began, Argentina repeated its starting lineup of the previous 2-0 win over Venezuela, keeping its up-front trio with Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero and Lautaro Martinez. But the approach against Brazil was clearly different, with the team sitting back and preparing for counters.
Brazil had two changes to face its archrivals, with midfielder Casemiro returning from suspension in Allan’s place and Alex Sandro substituting injured Filipe Luis in the left-back.
Still, Argentina still was first to get an opportunity to open the scoring. At 12 minutes, Leandro Paredes fired from long distance and the ball flew close to Alisson’s bar.
His coach disagrees: “By merit, the team that should have advanced to the final was Argentina,” Scaloni said.
The coach also complained about the refereeing in Firmino’s goal, insisting his team had heard a whistle in the beginning of Jesus’ move.
At the end of the match, Argentina’s Paredes wept sitting on the pitch as Messi once again looked distraught.
The Brazilians celebrated with moderation after a match that could have a different ending if Argentina had found the net instead of the posts on two occasions.
