LIVE: Argentina v Brazil | COPA AMERICA – FINAL

20:00 ET Canada-USA | 02:00 Cairo Local Time
Venue: Estadio do Maracana
Referee: Esteban Ostojich (Uruguay)

The 2021 Copa America is almost at an end but before the curtain is drawn, we must first look ahead to what should be a thrilling final between Argentina and Brazil.

These two rivals are well known for being the top dogs in South American football and that’s been the case for a long time now, with both being viewed as the biggest contenders outside of Europe at just about every World Cup. This time, however, it’s all about becoming kings of the continent when they meet at the Maracana.

Argentina

Argentina have not won the Copa America since 1993 and in that time, they’ve finished as runners-up on four separate occasions. For the sake of their legacy they need to do everything in their power to get back in the win column, and they’ll have to do it in the same stadium where they experienced World Cup final heartbreak back in 2014. It’ll be tough but with Lionel Messi leading the charge, we’re confident in saying that anything is possible.

Emiliano Martinez has been electric in goal thus far and will hope to carry that momentum forward, whereas Lautaro Martinez will continue to keep Aguero out of the side when he partners up with Messi for this titanic game.

Brazil

After a parade of changes due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Brazil were named as hosts of this year’s Copa America just weeks before the tournament was scheduled to begin. Now, after an almost faultless campaign, they’re ready to try and repeat as champions for the first time since they did it in 2004 and 2007. It’s going to be a tall order but with the squad they’ve got at their disposal, we can’t see any reason why they wouldn’t be the favourites.

Gabriel Jesus will be out of action for this one due to the red card he suffered against Chile. Elsewhere, Pacqueta is on a strong run of form and is likely to feature alongside Neymar, with Silva and Marquinhos holding the fort at the back.

There’s been a lot of talk about destiny for Lionel Messi and Argentina but at this level, we just don’t think it’s going to play as big of a role as many others think it will. The Brazilians are on their own home turf and while that alone isn’t going to be enough to get them over the finish line, we do think they’ve got enough to put a stop to this Argentine rise we appear to be living through. It’ll be tough and hard-fought, but we back a 2-1 Brazil win.