Copa America: Lionel Messi wins maiden international trophy as Argentina beat Brazil in final

Lionel Messi's wait for his maiden trophy with Argentina finally ended on Sunday when La Albiceleste defeated Brazil 1-0 in the final of Copa America 2021.

After losing three major finals in the last seven years (2014 World Cup, 2015 and 2016 Copa America), Messi-led Argentina their country's wait of 28 years to triumph in a major tournament. Argentina's last major title was the 1993 Copa America, which they had won by beating Mexico in the final.

The win over Brazil on Sunday also saw Argentina go on level with Uruguay in the record of most Copa America titles – 15.

It was not surprising to see that, in the end, it came down to what the title victory meant to Argentina's captain Messi, who has dominated the sport of football for over a decade. While he has won everything on offer with his club FC Barcelona, success with Argentina eluded him. When Messi received one more opportunity to add an international title to his decorated CV, the Little Magician grabbed it.

Playing in his 10th major tournament, Messi, who turned 34 last month, was the best player in the Copa America 2021 as he led Argentina to glory in Brazil.

Having played seven matches in the Copa America 2021, he was involved in nine goals out of the 13 scored by Argentina. The skipper led from the front as he scored four and assisted five. His impressive performances won him the Golden Boot award as well as the Best Player of the tournament.

However, Messi is yet to score in the final of a major tournament for Argentina. He came close to changing that on Sunday but Brazil's goalkeeper Ederson blocked his attempt.

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) forward Angel di Maria netted the lone goal in Argentina's 1-0 win over Brazil that turned out to be the title-winning strike. Considering di Maria was forced to miss several big games in the last few years due to various injuries, including the Copa America 2016 final, the latest win became even sweeter for the PSG star.

"It's going to be unforgettable. Messi told me thanks to me, I said thanks to him! He told me that it was my final, that it was the rematch for the finals that I couldn't play. It had to be today and today it was. I am happy for my daughters, my wife, my parents, all the people who supported us and for all the crazy people who came here. A World Cup is coming up soon and this is a huge boost," di Maria was quoted by Goal, as saying in a post-match interview on Sunday.