10 Important Lessons Learned From 2024 Copa América

After helping his team win its record-setting 16th Copa América, surpassing Uruguay’s 15 titles, Argentina’s biggest player, Lionel Messi, is probably retiring from international football. Football in South America (and beyond, given that CONCACAF teams are included too) is still a thrilling show, but to keep its reputation and caliber, significant changes need to be made to certain issues. Yes, we mean hooliganism. On Sunday, thousands of supporters attempted to enter the Hard Rock Stadium without tickets, causing the final game in the US city of Miami to be delayed by more than an hour.

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We learned a variety of things from the 2024 Copa América. Colombia demonstrated its abilities and established players showed that they still have more power than up-and-coming talent, yet, Argentina asserted its supremacy.

While South American football continues to be an exciting show full of emotions and tales, it also faces issues that need immediate attention in order to preserve its reputation and caliber in comparison to other competitions like the UEFA European Championship, whose last edition, to be fair, produced not as much excitement as anticipated, but did produce a lot of first-time stats.

Here, we look back on 10 most significant moments from the 2024 Copa América:

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# 1 Argentina’s Historical Triple Crown

Argentina won its 16th Copa América title, confirming its dominance on the continent, with a 1-0 victory over Colombia in the championship match. With this title, “La Albiceleste” took the lead in the all-time tournament standings, leaving Uruguay (15 titles) behind.

Together with the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and the 2021 Copa América, this victory completes the so-called “triple crown”, a historic feat that highlights the team’s superiority worldwide.

After an underachievement in Russia at the World Cup, Lionel Scaloni took over in 2018, and since then, he has guided Argentina to a footballing rebirth. With a new Finalissima (Finalísima in Spanish) scheduled for 2025 that will play the Copa América champion against the team that wins the UEFA Euro (against Spain, of course), Argentina is en route to continuing its title-winning streak and solidifying its position as a global force.

# 2 G.O.A.T.’s International Farewell

Even though he was more utilitarian and prone to injury during this Copa América, 37-year-old Lionel Messi is still the Argentina team’s leader. His presence on the squad and leadership are vital. With Ángel Di María’s farewell, Argentina will need to carefully navigate a transition in order to preserve its competitiveness. Of course, without Messi as well.

The team’s ability to work as one to win the cup despite Messi’s injury in the closing minutes of the match against Colombia was demonstrated in that game. This triumph showcases Scaloni’s group’s resilience in the face of its major star’s less-than-optimal performance.

# 3 James Like Phoenix

During Copa América 2024, James Rodríguez made a remarkable career revitalization, guiding Colombia to the championship game and winning the award for best player of the competition. His influence and talent are highlighted by his assist record and the respect he receives from his teammates and coach Néstor Lorenzo.

James’s performance serves as a reminder that his talent and vision are still present even in the face of challenges in his club career.

# 4 Experience Overshadows Young Power

The stars of the show in the USA were Messi (37), Venezuelan striker Salomón Rondón (34), and James (33).

In a competition where Chilean goalie Claudio Bravo and Peruvian forward Paolo Guerrero were symbols of longevity, taking the pitch at 41 and 40 years old, respectively, despite their teams being eliminated in the first phase, Uruguayan Luis Suárez, 37 years old, became the oldest-ever goalscorer in a Copa América.

Promising players like Endrick from Brazil, Alejandro Garnacho from Argentina, and Kendry Páez from Ecuador will have to wait their turn to make an impact in the world’s oldest national team event; they just were unable to do so this time.

# 5 Where Did Brazil’s Jogo Bonito Disappear?

Brazil is still in pursuit of the game’s legendary “jogo bonito” charm. Concerns have been raised by Neymar’s absence and the inconsistent play of Vini’s new generation. Brazil is being choked by nostalgia for the greats of the past, a group of icons that include Pelé, Garrincha, Zico, Romário, Rivaldo, Ronaldo, and Ronaldinho.

Instead of winning the Copa América and thrilling its supporters, the team served to confirm the worries raised by the dismal start to the World Cup qualifiers, in which Dorival Júnior started in place of Fernando Diniz on the bench while Italian Carlo Ancelotti was regarded as a possible replacement. Dorival has a lot of work ahead of him. It’s obvious that it’s insufficient just to have young, talented athletes like Endrick, who’s only 17 years old.

# 6 Ecuador Disappoints

Although it arrived with great expectations and as the biggest favorite to win its group by the odds of the MuchBetter betting sites, Ecuador let its supporters down. The team placed second in Group B and didn’t perform well enough to make it to the quarterfinals, which led to the departure of coach Félix Sánchez Bas.

Now, the Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF) must choose a coach capable of turning around the team and winning back the fans’ confidence. It’s incapable of making another blunder.

# 7 Venezuela Exceeds Expectations

Venezuela’s impressive run in this tournament caught everyone off guard. Guided by the Argentine Fernando “Bocha” Batista, “La Vinotinto” established themselves by winning the opening round with a perfect 9 points; nevertheless, they were ousted by Canada on penalties in the quarterfinals.

Will the only nation in South America without a World Cup experience be able to make it to the premier football tournament for the first time, given the bright future ahead of them? This competition has given Venezuelan football fans hope for the future.

# 8 Giants of CONCACAF Are No Match for South Americans

The World Cup hosts, Mexico and the United States, suffered a severe setback when they were eliminated in the first round. Their future hopes will depend on finding new coaches and having to rebuild their teams.

By making it to the semi-finals, Canada, on the other hand, demonstrated a promising performance and provided optimism for the region.

# 9 Condition of Pitches Below Standards

There were frequent complaints regarding the condition of the pitches in spite of the visually stunning venues. For the 2026 World Cup, the tournament’s management will need to make major improvements in order to guarantee playing fields of a caliber befitting a major international competition. Patches that hadn’t yet closed were observed in some stadiums, and in certain areas, it was even feasible to spot that the grass-painted earth was rising.

Pitches—which will host a FIFA World Cup in two years—weren’t the typical breadth and length, which is another consideration the organization needs to make if it hopes to improve. Also, the training fields were reportedly just inadequate for a national team competition.

# 10 Fans’ Conduct Throws on Shame on Continent

There were incidents of violence and chaos during the competition.

Violence was evident throughout this tournament, from the fights between two Ecuadorian players as they were celebrating their close run to the quarterfinals to the altercation between Uruguayan players and the audience as they leaped into the stands to spar with Colombian supporters.

Additionally, there was obvious pandemonium at the gates of the final game’s venue as Argentine and Colombian supporters attempted to enter the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami by slamming doors; some of them did so without tickets.

The last point is certainly a continental shame. CONMEBOL needs to step up its efforts to make the Copa América more organized and secure in the future. The rest, except for the state of pitches, which belongs to the responsibility of the US Soccer Federation, were good sides of the most grandiose continental event along with the European Championship.